There are specific requirements for the filling and writing of patent application documents, and the applicant can fill in and write them by himself or entrust a patent agency to handle them on his behalf. Although it is not mandatory to entrust a patent agency, considering the importance of carefully writing patent application documents and the legal rigor of examination and approval procedures, it is worth promoting for applicants with little experience.
Acceptance of patent application
After receiving the patent application, the Patent Office's acceptance office or the Patent Office's agency shall determine the application date, give the application number and issue a notice of acceptance for the application that meets the acceptance conditions.
Payment method of application fee
The application fee and other fees can be paid directly to the toll office or agency of the Patent Office, or remitted through the bank or post office. At present, banks use electronic transfer and post offices use electronic remittance. When paying the patent fee through the post office or bank, the payer shall indicate the correct application number or patent number on the money order, and shall abbreviate the name of the payer. The remitter should ask the bank or post office staff to enter the above payment information in the remittance postscript column. If you remit money through the post office, you should also ask the post office staff to enter the complete mailing address, including the postal code, which will play an important role in future procedures. Fees shall not be sent to the Patent Office.
When paying the application fee, if the patent application documents are submitted in person, you can pay the application fee after obtaining the acceptance notice and the application fee payment notice. If an application is submitted by mail, the application fee shall be paid after receiving the notification of acceptance and the notification of payment of the application fee, because the application fee needs to be paid with the corresponding application number, but the date of payment of the application fee shall not exceed two months from the date of application at the latest.
Patent examination and approval procedure
According to the Patent Law, the examination and approval procedure of an application for a patent for invention includes five stages: acceptance, preliminary examination, publication, actual examination and authorization. When examining and approving an application for a patent for utility model or design, there are only three stages: acceptance, preliminary examination and authorization.
Actively modify and correct the patent application documents.
The active revision and correction of patent application documents is also a procedure that applicants can choose according to their needs. Applications for patents for utility models and designs are only allowed to be modified voluntarily within two months from the date of application; An application for a patent for invention is only allowed to actively modify the patent application documents within three months from the date of filing a request for substantive examination and receiving a notice from the Patent Office that the application for a patent for invention has entered the substantive examination stage.
Reply to various notices from the Patent Office.
(1) Observe the deadline for reply, and the consequences of late reply are the same as those of no reply. Answer the questions pointed out in the Notice of Review Opinions one by one. The reply can agree with the examiner's opinion, and make corrections or amendments to the application according to the examination opinions; If you disagree with the examiner, you should state your own views and reasons.
(2) Defects in format or procedure can generally be eliminated by correction; Obvious substantive defects are generally difficult to eliminate through revision or modification. In most cases, we can only defend and state our opinions on whether there are or are obvious substantive defects.
(3) The modification of an application for a patent for invention or utility model shall not exceed the scope recorded in the original specification and claims, and the modification of an application for a patent for design shall not exceed the scope shown in the original picture or photograph. When submitting the revised document, a replacement page shall be attached in the prescribed format.
(4) The defence shall be filed in the prescribed form. Such as submitting corrections or comments. Under normal circumstances, the formal or procedural problems are corrected by using the correction book, and the substantive contents of the application are modified by using the opinion statement. If the applicant disagrees with the examiner's opinion, use a statement of opinion when replying.
Entrusting a patent agency to apply for a patent generally goes through the following steps: 1. Consultation:
1, to determine whether the invention belongs to patentable content; For this consultation, it is recommended to consult several companies and compare them to determine the correct conclusion. Because at present, many information receptionists take commission, sometimes there will be inappropriate reply to the consultation for the business volume.
2. Determine what kind of patent (invention, utility model, design) can be applied for the invention content. 2. Sign an agency agreement.
The purpose of signing the agency agreement at this time is to clarify the rights and obligations between the applicant and the patent agency, mainly to restrain the patent agent from keeping the contents of the applicant's inventions confidential.
Third, technical disclosure
1. The applicant provides the patent agent with background information about the invention-creation or entrusts the retrieval of relevant contents; 2. The applicant introduces the contents of the invention in detail to help the patent agent fully understand the contents of the invention.
Fourth, determine the application plan.
On the basis of understanding the invention and creation, the agent will make a preliminary judgment on the prospect of the patent application and advise the applicant to withdraw the application with little possibility of patent authorization. At this time, the agency will charge a small amount of consulting fees, and most of the application agency fees will be returned to the applicant.
If the patent authorization has a bright future, the patent agent will put forward a clear application plan, scope and content of protection, and start preparing a formal application with the consent of the applicant.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) Preparation of application documents
1, writing patent application documents;
2. Make application documents;
3. Submit a patent application and obtain a patent application number.
Review of intransitive verbs
The Chinese Patent Office examines the patent application documents, and the patent agent makes patent corrections, replies and changes during the examination process. When necessary, the applicant shall cooperate with the patent agent to complete the above work.
China Patent Office will authorize or reject the examination conclusion according to the examination results. Generally, this process takes about 6 months for design, 2 months for utility model 10- 12 months, and 2-4 years for invention patent.
Eight, go through the formalities of patent registration or reexamination request:
If the patent application is authorized, it shall go through the registration formalities in accordance with the requirements of the patent authorization notice and obtain a patent certificate.
If the patent application is rejected, it shall be determined whether to file a request for reexamination according to the specific circumstances.
At this point, the patent application process is over.
Patent application fee:
Patent application time:
For invention patents, except for some invention patents that need to be kept confidential, general invention patents need to go through the stages of acceptance, preliminary examination, publication, actual examination and authorization announcement. In general, it will be announced within 65,438+08 months after acceptance, and then the actual examination stage. It usually takes about 3 years to get authorization, but it does not rule out a longer time. In order to speed up the time limit for obtaining the patent right, we can apply for publicity in advance, so that it can be made public after passing the preliminary examination, and then enter the actual trial stage, which can speed up the progress of authorization. In addition, in some special circumstances, it may be required to speed up the audit, but the procedures are more complicated and the cost will be higher.
As far as utility model and design are concerned, it needs to go through the stages of acceptance, preliminary examination and authorization announcement. Because there is no need for substantive examination, the time for authorization of utility models and designs is relatively short, generally 6- 10 months.