There is no clear legal provision on how long to conduct preliminary examination after patent acceptance. The law only stipulates that the publication time of a patent that has passed the preliminary examination is eighteen months from the date of application, and the substantive examination time is three years from the date of application according to the examination request put forward by the parties.
Legal objectivity:
Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) Article 41 If the patent applicant refuses to accept the decision of the the State Council Patent Administration Department to reject the application, he may request a reexamination to the the State Council Patent Administration Department within three months from the date of receiving the notice. After the review, the patent administration department in the State Council shall make a decision and notify the patent applicant. If the patent applicant refuses to accept the reexamination decision of the patent administrative department of the State Council, he may bring a lawsuit to the people's court within three months from the date of receiving the notice.