1, written principle
At present, a written document must be submitted to apply for a patent in China, and everything is subject to the submitted written document. However, with the development of electronic information technology, the Chinese Patent Office has tried some electronic applications in a few foreign-related agencies.
2. The principle of first application
Theoretically, the same invention can only be granted a patent right. Therefore, if two or more applicants apply for patents for inventions with the same content respectively, the patent right will be granted to the first applicant.
If two people apply on the same day, they can solve it through consultation, or they can apply together or transfer to one of them. If negotiation fails, no one will get the approval. It can only be protected as a technical secret, or become a freely known technology.
3, the principle of oneness
The so-called principle of oneness is the principle of one invention and one application. An application for a patent for an invention or utility model shall be limited to one invention or utility model, and two or more inventions or utility models belonging to a general inventive concept may be filed as one application.
An application for a patent for design shall be limited to one design used in a product, and two or more designs used in the same category and sold or used in sets may be regarded as one application.
Consideration of application type:
When an invention decides to apply for a patent, the first thing to consider is what kind of patent to apply for. It is necessary to protect the market to the maximum extent in the competition and to spend less money. The patent law stipulates that besides method patents, invention patents are also needed, and product patents depend on their vitality in the market.
Under normal circumstances, in addition to groundbreaking inventions, a large number of new products are suitable for applying for utility model patents, and some products can only be protected by applying for design patents. Its advantages are short patent approval period, low maintenance cost and short protection period, which is in line with the characteristics of rapid product technology update.