“Zheng Code” vs. Microsoft: Microsoft Takes PRB to Court

October 20, 2008

After being sued by the owner of “Zheng Code,” patent Microsoft ended up in court with the Patent Reexamination Board (PRB) of the State Intellectual Property Office, seeking reversal of its decision to uphold validity of the patent on “Zheng Code.”

Attorneys for the both sides engaged in a heated debate over whether the Zheng Code patent claims are defective, by using projectors to show various operations of the Zheng input system. Microsoft, citing four reasons in support of its position, including indefiniteness in the patent claims, argued that the Board decision was not based on legal foundations. Defendant responded by indicating the clear factual foundations on which its decision was grounded, the appropriate application of law, and proper legal procedures, and, therefore, request the court reject Microsoft’s accusation. The patentee, Ms. Zheng Long, being joined in the process, sided with the Board.

The Zheng Code, jointly invented by Mr. Zheng Yili, chief editor of A New English-Chinese Dictionary, and his daughter Zheng Long, was patented in 1991 to Ms. Zheng Long as the named patentee. In 1992, under license from the Zhengs, Zhongyi Electronic Ltd. exploited the patent and developed two sets of Chinese character systems (fonts Song and Hei), which received subsequent patents.

On April 23, 2007, after a patent infringement case was filed in court, defendant Microsoft stayed the case, and petitioned the Patent Reexamination Board to invalidate the Zheng patent, and failing the petition, proceeded to judicial review of the Board’s decision. The Beijing No. 1 Intermediate Court on October 7 conducted a hearing on the case.