1. To apply for a patent to the Patent Office or to designate China in an international application, the State Council or the State Council shall be entrusted with a patent agency designated by the Patent Office with the consent of the relevant authorities in the State Council. After accepting the entrustment of the applicant, the patent agency shall submit the relevant documents that the relevant competent authorities in the State Council have agreed to apply for a patent abroad to the Patent Office for the record.
2. When submitting an international application to the International Bureau, compatriots in Taiwan Province Province shall provide the Patent Office with the certification documents of the applicant's domicile or business place, and entrust the State Council to authorize the patent agency designated by the Patent Office to handle it. China compatriots living in Hongkong, Macao and other regions who submit international applications to the International Bureau and designate the China Patent Office as an international search unit in the request shall provide nationality certificates to the Patent Office and entrust a patent agency designated by the Patent Office authorized by the State Council to handle them.
3. Where a China resident or national submits an international application to the International Bureau in accordance with these Measures, the competent international search unit and the international preliminary examination unit are the Chinese Patent Office.
In addition, China people can apply for patents in foreign countries through the Paris Convention.
There are two main ways for China people to apply for patents abroad: PCT international application and Paris Convention.
It is worth noting that the PCT international application does not include the design patent.