Legal analysis: In China, the protection period of different types of inventions is different. The protection period of invention patents is 20 years, and the protection period of utility model patents and design patents is 10 years, all from the date of application. Although the patent term stipulated in Article 42 of the Patent Law refers to the calculation from the date of application, this is only the starting point for the calculation of the patent term, which does not mean that the patent right will take effect from the date of application. According to the provisions of the patent law, the patent right shall take effect from the date of authorization announcement. Because a patent application must be examined by the Patent Office before it can be granted a patent right, it will take some time from the date of application to the announcement of authorization by the Patent Office, so that the effective period of legal protection that the patentee of the invention patent can actually get must be within 20 years. The effective period that the patentee of utility model and design can actually get legal protection must be less than 10 years.
Legal basis: Article 42 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) has a term of 20 years, and the term of utility model patent and design patent is 10 years, counting from the date of filing.