1, accepted
After submitting an application to the Patent Office, the patentee shall first examine the application conditions. If the conditions for acceptance are met, the Patent Office shall issue the application number (including the date of acceptance), and after reviewing the list of documents submitted by the applicant, the Patent Office shall issue a notice of acceptance to the applicant.
2. First trial
Because patent examination needs to invest public resources for examination, it will generate certain expenses. After paying the patent application fee, it will enter the preliminary examination stage. Patents that need to be kept confidential will be examined in accordance with the corresponding confidentiality procedures.
The preliminary examination mainly examines whether the application content falls within the scope of not granting a patent right in the patent law, including whether there is an obvious lack of technical content (which cannot constitute a technical scheme), whether there is a lack of uniformity, and whether there are problems in documents and formats.
Step 3 announce
When the invention patent passes the preliminary examination and is announced, it will enter the announcement stage. If the patent applicant does not require early disclosure, it needs to wait until 15 months from the filing date before entering the public preparation procedure. However, if the applicant requests to make it public in advance, the application will immediately enter the public preparation procedure.
4. Substantive review
After the publication of the application for a patent for invention, if the applicant makes a request for substantive examination and it has taken effect, the applicant will enter the actual trial procedure. Where an application for a patent for invention fails to make a request for substantive examination within the specified time, or the request for substantive examination fails to take effect, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
The substantive examination mainly examines the substantive conditions such as novelty, creativity and practicality of the patent application.
If it is found that the application does not meet the authorization conditions or has some defects, the applicant will be notified to make statements or amendments within the specified time. If no reply or amendment is made within the prescribed time limit, or the reply still does not meet the requirements, its application will be rejected.
Because of the long time of substantive examination, the Patent Office gives the applicant a two-year operation period. However, if the applicant is not authorized within two years, the application maintenance fee must be paid every year from the third year. If the application fails to be renewed, it shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Step 5 ratify
When the reasons for the rejection of utility model, design patent and invention patent are not found in the examination, the examiner will issue a notice of authorization and enter the preparation for patent authorization registration.
It can be seen that Zhengzhou patent application procedures, like trademarks, need to be reviewed and announced accordingly, which will also lead to long processing time and sudden problems. Therefore, choosing a professional and experienced intellectual property service provider is undoubtedly the best choice for you. If you have any questions about how to apply for patent procedures, please consult a professional intellectual property consultant.
Zhengzhou patent application patent application procedure patent application method patent application process