legal ground
patent law of the people's republic of china
Article 22 An invention or utility model that has been granted a patent right shall be novel, creative and practical. Novelty means that before the filing date, no identical invention or utility model was published in publications at home and abroad, used in China or known to the public in other ways, and no identical invention or utility model was applied to the patent administration department in the State Council by others and recorded in the patent application documents published after the filing date. Creativity means that compared with the prior art before the filing date, the invention has outstanding substantive features and remarkable progress, and the utility model has substantive features and progress. Practicality means that the invention or utility model can be manufactured or used and can produce positive effects. Article 23. The design for which the patent right has been granted shall be different from or similar to the design that has been published in domestic and foreign publications or publicly used in China before the application date, and shall not conflict with the legal rights previously obtained by others.