How long is the patent protection period of drugs?

Legal analysis: patents are divided into inventions, utility models and designs. Drugs are generally applied for invention patents in China, and the patent period is 20 years. It is necessary to pay the annual fee on time according to the relevant documents. Failing to pay, it shall be deemed as an automatic waiver of the patent right. There is no special provision for the term of protection of new drug patents in China. The term of protection of design patents and utility model patents is ten years; An application for a patent for a drug, that is, an application for a patent for the invention of a drug's production process and formula, shall have its protection period counted from the date of application.

Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Patent Law.

Article 42 From the date of filing, the term of patent right for invention is 20 years, that for utility model is 10 year, and that for design is 15 year.

Where a patent for invention is granted for four years from the date of application for a patent for invention and three years from the date of request for substantive examination, the patent administration department of the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, compensate for the unreasonable delay of the invention patent in the process of authorization, except for the unreasonable delay caused by the applicant.

In order to compensate for the time occupied by the review and approval of new drugs, the patent administration department of the State Council shall compensate the patentee for the patent term of new drug-related invention patents that have been approved for listing in China. The compensation period shall not exceed five years, and the total effective patent right period after the new drug is approved for marketing shall not exceed fourteen years.

Article 43 The patentee shall pay the annual fee from the year when the patent right is granted.