The withdrawal of patent application can be divided into express withdrawal and implied withdrawal. Express withdrawal means that the applicant submits a written document to the Patent Office to request the withdrawal of the patent application, while implied withdrawal is mainly expressed by negative omission. If the applicant for a patent for invention fails to submit a request for substantive examination to the Patent Office within 3 years from the date of application, the application for a patent for invention shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Use a unified "Declaration of Withdrawal of Patent Application" form as required. Where the applicant withdraws the patent application, it shall use the "Declaration of Withdrawal of Patent Application" made by the Patent Office. "The declaration shall be filled in item by item, indicating the invention name, application number and application date, and shall be signed by the applicant or agency.
No conditions may be attached to the withdrawal of a patent application. If it is necessary to withdraw the patent application, whether the applicant entrusts a patent agency or not, it must issue a certificate signed by the applicant agreeing to withdraw the application. If there are more than two applicants for a patent application and they request to withdraw their patent application, they shall submit the certification materials signed or sealed by all the applicants for agreeing to withdraw the patent application.
Principle of estoppel in withdrawing patent application. Voluntary withdrawal of the patent application is the right of the applicant, and the reasons for withdrawal may not be stated when it is filed. According to the principle of estoppel in legal proceedings, once the withdrawal of a patent application takes effect, the applicant may not request to withdraw the declaration, and the application will be terminated.
After the declaration of withdrawing the patent application has been examined and passed, the applicant shall be notified to go through the formalities. When the withdrawal procedure is unqualified, the application will be given as "not notified".
Time limit for withdrawal of patent application
Once the patent application is withdrawn, the applicant and his heirs may not request its restoration.
If an application for a patent for invention is withdrawn before the publication of the preparation procedure, it will not be published after the withdrawal, but if it is withdrawn after the publication of the preparation procedure, the application will be published as usual. The preparation procedure for publication generally starts from the15th month from the date of application. However, if there is a request for publication in advance, it will enter the publication preparation procedure from the time when the formal examination is qualified, and if there is a priority request, it will enter the publication preparation procedure from the first 15 month from the priority date.
The declaration of withdrawing the patent application shall be made before going through the formalities of patent authorization registration. After going through the registration formalities, the Patent Office immediately entered the announcement preparation procedure. Even if the applicant requests to withdraw the patent application, the Patent Office will publish the authorization and patent specification as usual.
Where an application for a patent for invention is withdrawn before publication and an application for a utility model or design has been registered, the Patent Office shall keep the application documents confidential; And manage according to the application documents before and after publication until the documents are destroyed.
If the patent application is withdrawn after publication, the re-application will be rejected because of the loss of novelty.