Legal basis: People's Republic of China (PRC) Patent Law.
Article 3 The patent administrative department of the State Council is responsible for the management of patent work throughout the country; Accept and examine patent applications in a unified manner and grant patent rights according to law. The departments for patent administration under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for patent administration within their respective administrative areas.
Article 21 The patent administration department in the State Council shall handle patent applications and requests in accordance with the requirements of objectivity, fairness, accuracy and timeliness. The patent administrative department of the State Council shall strengthen the construction of public service system for patent information, publish patent information completely, accurately and timely, provide basic patent data, and publish patent bulletins regularly to promote the dissemination and utilization of patent information. Before the patent application is published or announced, the staff of the patent administration department in the State Council and relevant personnel shall be responsible for keeping the contents confidential.