The concept of "deferred review system"

Qualitative review, also known as complete review system, 1836 was founded in the United States. With the continuous progress of science and technology, the number of inventions is increasing day by day, and the registration system often makes applications with no scientific and technological value get patents, which has aroused the dissatisfaction of many patent users. Therefore, public opinion requires substantive examination of the content of the invention, that is, besides formal examination, it also needs substantive examination of novelty, creativity and practicality before deciding whether to grant a patent.

The substantive examination system is divided into two types: examination system and deferred examination system.

1. Immediate review system, also known as one-time review system. That is, after the patent office formally examines the application, it immediately examines the content of the patent application for novelty, creativity and practicality without the applicant's request for substantive examination, so as to determine whether to grant the patent right. The advantage of instant examination system is that it can ensure the quality of patents granted patent rights, reduce litigation disputes and simplify examination procedures to some extent. Its disadvantage is that the examination and approval time is long and a huge patent examination institution is needed. At present, the United States, the Soviet Union, Canada, Sweden, India and other countries all implement this censorship system.

2. Deferred review system, also known as early public request review system. That is, the patent office does not immediately conduct substantive examination after formal examination of the patent application, but makes the application public first, and the applicant can request substantive examination at any time within a period of time from the date of application. After the applicant makes a request for substantive examination, the Patent Office will conduct substantive examination only after the request is made public. If the applicant fails to make a request for substantive examination within the statutory time limit, it shall be deemed as automatic withdrawal of the application. The statutory time limit for requesting substantive examination varies from country to country, which is roughly 2 ~ 7 years. Japan, West Germany, the Netherlands and other countries are seven years, Australia and other countries are five years, Brazil is two years and China is three years. The advantages of early public delayed examination system are: accelerating the exchange of patent information; Give the applicant sufficient time to consider whether and when to make a request for substantive examination. Some applicants will give up the request for substantive examination according to the actual situation, which avoids being rejected from the applicant's point of view, saves the examination cost, reduces the examination and approval workload of the patent office, and enables the examiner to concentrate on examining and handling those patent applications that request substantive examination. However, this kind of examination system is too lengthy, which makes the patent application in an unresolved state for a long time and easily leads to disputes. In addition, the period from early publicity to patent certificate issuance is a temporary legal protection period, during which the rights and interests of the applicant cannot be fully and reliably protected. Generally speaking, the early public delayed examination system combines the advantages of formal examination and immediate examination, solves the sharp contradiction in the history of patent system development, and is adopted by more and more countries.