How long is the patent protection period?

Chinese law stipulates that the protection period of patent rights is twenty years from the date of application, the protection period of utility model patent rights is ten years from the date of application, and the protection period of design patent rights is ten years from the date of application. Five years. After a patent is granted, the protection period is calculated from the date of application, which is generally the day the application is submitted to the Patent Office, but the specific time is based on the time determined in the acceptance notice issued by the Patent Office.

Legal basis: Article 42 of the "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" states that the term of invention patent rights is twenty years, the term of utility model patent rights is ten years, and the term of design patent rights is The period is fifteen years, calculated from the date of application.

If the invention patent right is granted after four years from the date of application for the invention patent 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, make a decision on the invention patent in Unreasonable delays in the grant process will be compensated for the duration of the patent right, except for unreasonable delays caused by the applicant.

In order to compensate for the time taken up by the review and approval of new drugs, for invention patents related to new drugs that have been approved for marketing in China, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council will provide patent period compensation at the request of the patentee. The compensation period shall not exceed five years, and the total effective patent period after the new drug is approved for marketing shall not exceed fourteen years.