Where Law School Doesn't Help

I've got an office action from the Chinese Patent Office sitting on my desk. I finally opened it today because I'd finished most of what I could do on all the English work on my desk until I get some feedback.

Sure enough, the Chinese Patent Office sends responses in hanzi.

I don't read hanzi. Not even a little bit. Except good luck and good fortune, fuji film, and maybe one or two other characters, I'm worthless with Chinese Characters.

But wait, it gets better. The patent application isn't translated, but the rejection from the Chinese Patent Office is. It tells me that the technology is being rejected for lack of inventiveness (looks like obviousness is the US equivalent, but I haven't looked it up to be sure) in view of a Japanese patent in light of a US patent.

You may be shocked to learn that I also do not read or speak Japanese.

So, the work that I am capable of doing on this file involves instructing my admin to order that the Japanese patent be translated and instructing my admin, yet again, to pull the original English text of the Chinese patent application (all the while praying that we can locate the English version prior to translation.)

I feel completely and totally useless. It's almost enough to make me want to learn Chinese before Spanish. Nahh.... vacationing in Spanish speaking countries will win over reading Chinese patents any day.