Invalid patent generally refers to an invention or patent that has not been authorized or lost due to various reasons stipulated by law and is no longer protected by patent law.
2. The significance of retrieving invalid patents
Any unit or individual can use it for free, thus obtaining economic benefits.
Any unit or individual can improve invalid patents and implement them free of charge.
3. How did the invalid patent come into being?
(a) the patent application documents do not meet the requirements of preliminary examination.
After accepting an application for a patent, China National Intellectual Property Administration shall make a preliminary examination on whether the application procedures are complete, whether the documents are complete, whether the instructions conform to the provisions of the patent law, whether the identity of the applicant conforms to the requirements of the patent law, whether the invention theme belongs to the protection scope of the patent law, and whether the application fee is paid. If the above matters do not meet the requirements, the applicant shall be required to make corrections within a specified time limit. If the applicant fails to make corrections within the time limit, his application shall be deemed to be withdrawn. If it still does not meet the requirements of the patent law after correction, it shall be rejected. Whether it is deemed to be withdrawn or rejected, the applied patent is invalid.
(2) The patent applicant withdraws it after the publication of the application.
After preliminary examination, China National Intellectual Property Administration believed that the application for a patent for invention was in conformity with the provisions of the Patent Law, and immediately announced the applicant's invention. The applicant shall request substantive examination within the statutory time limit. Where the applicant fails to request substantive examination, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and become an invalid patent.
(3) The patent applicant fails to reply within the time limit without justifiable reasons.
If China National Intellectual Property Administration considers that the invention patent does not conform to the provisions of the Patent Law after substantive examination, it shall notify the applicant and ask him to state his opinions or amend his application within a specified time limit. If the applicant fails to reply within the time limit without justifiable reasons, it shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and become an invalid patent.
(four) did not apply for patent protection in China.
Patent right is regional, and the patent right granted by a country can only be supported and protected within the jurisdiction of that country's laws. If a foreign patent fails to apply for patent protection in China within one year, it will not be protected by the Patent Law of China, and the patent will become invalid in China.
(5) The patentee fails to pay the fees on schedule.
The patentee must fulfill the obligation to pay the patent maintenance fee. If it fails to pay on time without justifiable reasons, it will be regarded as an automatic waiver of the patent right and an invalid patent.
(6) The application for a patent for invention was rejected.
The State Patent Administration Department considers that the statements and amendments made by the patent applicant still do not conform to the provisions of the Patent Law, and rejects the patent application.
(7) Withdrawing the application or patent right before the patent authorization is declared invalid.
The applicant withdraws his patent application before being granted the patent right, or after being granted the patent right, it is found by other units or individuals that the grant of the patent right is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law, and may request the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right invalid.
(8) The patentee voluntarily renounces the patent right.
Although some patented technologies are still in the protection period, the patentee thinks that they have no use value, and is unwilling to continue to undertake various obligations for them and give them up automatically in writing.
(9) The term of protection expires.
After the expiration of the protection period of the authorized patent, the patentee no longer enjoys the exclusive right. The protection period of invention patents in China is 20 years from the date of application, and the protection period of utility model and design patents is 10 year from the date of application.