Tier Two Sub-Component Utility Model Patent Verification before Coastal Exit Clearance
Verify tier-two utility model patents via CNIPA and GACC databases before export clearance to prevent customs detention and demurrage losses.
Article 67 Prior Use Defense
Meaning
Statutory exemption under the PRC Patent Law allows a manufacturer to continue using and producing a technology if it has already made preparations for its manufacture prior to the filing date of a patent. The Article 67 prior use defense protects established investments by ensuring that later-filed patents cannot shut down active factory lines. It limits the patent holder’s right to obtain an injunction or damages against a qualifying defendant.
Temporal Requirement
Establishing this defense requires the defendant to prove that it fabricated the identical product or completed the necessary preparations before the patentee submitted their application to the National Intellectual Property Administration. Under the PRC Patent Law, the prior use must be independent and not derived from the patentee’s own disclosures or trade secrets. The Article 67 prior use defense stops applying if the manufacturer expands its production scale beyond the capacity it had established before the patent filing date.
This means the protection covers only the existing manufacturing scale and does not grant a license for unrestricted growth.
Evidence Collection
Documentation must prove both the timing of the preparations and the technical identity of the product being manufactured. Factories secure their position by preserving dated purchase orders for specialized tooling, engineering blueprints with certified timestamps, and tax invoices for raw materials. The Article 67 prior use defense rests entirely on the reliability of this physical record, as courts rarely accept oral testimony alone.
Notarized factory records and shipping logs prior to the critical date form the foundation of a successful defense.
Supply Chain Protection
Enterprise buyers rely on this legal provision to avoid sudden disruptions when a patent dispute arises between their suppliers and a competitor. If the supplier can establish the defense, the buyer may continue to purchase and use the components without being held liable for infringement. This keeps supply networks stable during aggressive patent assertion campaigns in the electronics and automotive sectors.
The protection does not, however, allow the supplier to license the technology to third parties.