The second stage refers to the period from the grant of the patent right to the expiration of the patent term. During this period, the applicant's patent has been approved and has a patent right protected by law. Where a unit or individual exploits a published invention before being granted a patent right and fails to pay an appropriate fee according to the requirements of the patent applicant, the patentee may bring a lawsuit to the people's court to recover the fee after applying for being granted a patent right.
Legal basis: Article 14 of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC), if the invention patents of state-owned enterprises and institutions are of great significance to national interests or public interests, the relevant competent departments of the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may decide to popularize and apply them within the approved scope, allowing designated units to implement them, and the implementing units shall pay the fees to the patentee in accordance with state regulations. Invention patents of collectively owned units and individuals are of great significance to national interests or public interests, and need to be popularized, which shall be handled with reference to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.