(A) the start of invalid procedures
The invalidation procedure shall start at any time from the date when the patent administrative department of the State Council grants the patent right, and may last until the patent right is terminated. Because the decision to examine the request for invalidation can affect some matters before the termination of the patent right, it is allowed to make the request for invalidation after the termination of the patent right.
The subject of invalidation procedure: including any unit or individual, but according to the provisions of the Patent Examination Guide, the patentee shall not declare all his patents invalid.
(2) Examination of the request for invalidation
After the Patent Reexamination Board accepts the request for invalidation through formal examination and starts the procedure of invalidation, it will form a collegial panel to examine the case of the request for invalidation. Most cases are reviewed by a collegial panel composed of three people (team leader, presiding judge and jurors). Only a few serious cases are reviewed by a collegial panel of five people (1 team leader, 1 presiding judge and three jurors).
(3) the decision on examining the request for invalidation.
After examination, the collegial panel made a decision to examine the request for invalidation.
There are three types of decisions to examine the request for invalidation;
One is to declare all patents invalid, the other is to declare some patents invalid, and the third is to maintain the validity of patents.
(4) Subsequent judicial relief procedures.
According to the second paragraph of Article 46 of China's Patent Law, anyone who refuses to accept the decision of the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right invalid or maintain the patent right may, within 3 months from the date of receiving the notice, bring a lawsuit to the people's court with the Patent Reexamination Board as the defendant.
The court accepting the lawsuit and the nature of the lawsuit are the same as those filed against the review decision. It should be noted that the other party to the invalid procedure participated in the lawsuit as a third party.