1, patent acceptance stage
After receiving the patent application, the Patent Office will examine it. If the conditions for acceptance are met, the Patent Office shall determine the date of application, give the application number, and after verifying the list of documents, issue an acceptance notice to inform the applicant.
2. Preliminary review stage
After accepting a patent application, if the application fee is paid in accordance with the regulations, it will automatically enter the preliminary examination stage. Before the preliminary examination, the application for a patent for invention must be examined in secrecy, and if confidentiality is necessary, it shall be handled in accordance with the confidentiality procedures. In the preliminary examination, it is necessary to examine whether there are obvious deficiencies in the application, mainly including whether the contents of the examination fall within the scope of the patent law that does not grant patent rights, whether the obviously lacking technical contents cannot constitute a technical scheme, whether there is a lack of oneness, whether the application documents are complete and whether the format meets the requirements.
3. Publishing stage
The application for a patent for invention has entered the publication stage since the issuance of the notice of preliminary examination. If the applicant doesn't ask for disclosure in advance, he can't enter the public preparation procedure until 18 months after the application date. If the applicant requests to be made public in advance, the application will immediately enter the public preparation procedure. After format review, editing and proofreading, computer processing and typesetting and printing, about three months later, the abstract of its instructions was published in the Patent Gazette and a brochure was published. After the application is published, the applicant has the right to temporary protection.
4. Substantive review stage
After the publication of the application for a patent for invention, the applicant will enter the substantive examination procedure if the request for examination has come into effect. If the applicant fails to make a request for substantive examination within three years from the date of application, or the request for substantive examination fails to take effect, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
5. Authorization stage
If the application for a patent for invention is rejected after substantive examination, the examiner shall issue a notice of authorization and apply for authorization registration. The patent office examines the legal effect and completeness of the authorized text, proofreads and modifies the description items of the patent application, and then issues the authorization notice and registration notice. After receiving the notice, the applicant shall go through the registration formalities and pay the prescribed fees in accordance with the requirements of the notice within two months. If the registration formalities are completed on schedule, the Patent Office will grant a patent right, issue a patent certificate, record it in the patent register, and make an announcement in the patent gazette two months later. Failure to go through the registration formalities in accordance with the provisions shall be regarded as giving up the right to obtain the patent right.
The above is about how to apply for patent. If you don't know anything or have other questions, you can consult a professional intellectual property consultant.