What are the procedures for patent applications? According to the Patent Law, the approval process for invention patent applications is divided into five stages: acceptance, preliminary examination, publication, substantive examination and authorization: (1) In the acceptance stage, after the patent office receives the patent application After examination, if the acceptance conditions are met, the Patent Office will determine the filing date, give the application number, and after verifying the document list, issue an acceptance notice to notify the applicant. If the application documents are not typed, printed or illegible, or have been altered; or the drawings and pictures are not drawn with drawing tools and black ink, and the photos are blurred or altered; or the application documents are incomplete; or the request is missing If the name and address of the applicant are unknown; or if the patent application category is unclear or cannot be determined, and patent applications submitted directly by foreign entities and individuals without a foreign-related patent agency, they will not be accepted. (2) A patent application that has been accepted in the preliminary examination stage and has paid the application fee in accordance with regulations will automatically enter the preliminary examination stage. Before the preliminary examination, the invention patent application must first undergo a confidentiality review. If confidentiality is required, it shall be handled according to confidentiality procedures. The preliminary examination is to examine whether there are obvious defects in the application, mainly including whether the content of the examination falls within the scope of not granting patent rights in the Patent Law, whether there is an obvious lack of technical content that cannot constitute a technical solution, whether it lacks unity, and whether the application documents are complete and whether the format meets the requirements. If you are a foreign applicant, you will also need to undergo a qualification review and application procedures review. If the application is unqualified, the Patent Office will notify the applicant to make corrections or state opinions within the prescribed time limit. If the applicant fails to respond within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. If the defect has not been eliminated after the reply, it shall be rejected. If the application for an invention patent passes the preliminary examination, a notification of passing the preliminary examination will be issued. For utility model and design patent applications, in addition to the above review, it is also necessary to review whether they are obviously the same as existing patents and are not a new technical solution or new design. If no reason for rejection is found after the preliminary examination. Will go directly to the authorization order. (3) Publication stage An invention patent application enters the publication stage from the date of issuance of the preliminary examination qualification notice. If the applicant does not make a request for early disclosure, it will not enter the public preparation process until 18 months from the filing date. If the applicant requests early disclosure, the application will immediately enter the disclosure preparation process. After format review, editing and proofreading, computer processing, typesetting and printing, the summary of the specification will be published in the Patent Gazette and a single volume of the specification will be published in the Patent Gazette about three months later. After the application is published, the applicant obtains the right to temporary protection. (4) After the invention patent application is published during the substantive examination stage, if the applicant has submitted a substantive examination request and it has taken effect, the applicant will enter the substantive examination procedure. If the applicant has not submitted a request for substantive examination within three years from the date of application, or the request for substantive examination has not taken effect, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. During the actual examination, a comprehensive review will be conducted on whether the patent application has novelty, creativity, practicality and other substantive conditions stipulated in the patent law. If upon review it is determined that the authorization conditions are not met or there are various deficiencies, the applicant will be notified to state their opinions or make modifications within the specified time. If no reply is made within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. The application still does not meet the requirements after multiple replies. , be dismissed. The actual review period is long. If authorization has not been granted within two years from the date of application, the application maintenance fee must be paid every year from the third year. If it is not paid within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. If no reason for rejection is found during the substantive examination, the authorization procedure will be entered according to regulations. (5) In the authorization stage, if no reason for rejection is found after preliminary examination of utility model and design patent applications and substantive examination of invention patent applications, the examiner will issue an authorization notice and the application will be prepared for authorization registration. After checking the legal validity and completeness of the authorization text After conducting a comprehensive review and proofreading and revising the bibliographic items of the patent application, the Patent Office will issue a notice of authorization and a notice of registration procedures. After receiving the notice, the applicant shall complete the registration procedures in accordance with the requirements of the notice within 2 months and If you pay the prescribed fees and complete the registration procedures on time, the Patent Office will grant the patent right, issue a patent certificate, record it in the patent register, and announce it in the Patent Gazette 2 months later. If you fail to complete the registration procedures as required, you will be deemed to have To waive the right to obtain patent rights.