When applying for a patent for invention or utility model, the patent applicant must submit five documents, including the request, specification, patent claim, drawings and abstract. After accepting the patent application, China National Intellectual Property Administration will conduct a preliminary examination or a formal examination. It mainly includes: whether the application procedures are complete, whether the documents are complete, whether the instructions comply with the provisions of the patent law, whether the identity of the applicant meets the requirements of the patent law, whether the invention theme belongs to the scope of patent protection, whether the application fee has been paid, etc. If the above matters do not meet the requirements, the applicant shall be required to make corrections within a specified time limit. If the applicant fails to make corrections within the time limit, his application shall be deemed to be withdrawn. If it still does not meet the requirements of the patent law after correction, it shall be rejected. No matter whether the patent application is deemed to be withdrawn or rejected, it is an invalid patent. The reason for "invalid" is that one of several items, such as the format of the instructions and the identity of the applicant, may not meet the requirements. The preliminary examination does not involve the application content, so most of these invalid patents can be used for reference and have certain application value. After the publication of the application, the patent applicant withdraws or abandons the system of "early disclosure and delayed examination" implemented by China Patent Law. After preliminary examination, China National Intellectual Property Administration thinks that the application for a patent for this invention conforms to the provisions of the Patent Law. After 65,438+08 months from the date of filing, the applicant's invention was published immediately, and the application content (abstract) was published through the Bulletin of Invention Patent, and the application for invention patent was also published. After the publication of a patent application, it will not immediately enter the substantive examination procedure, but the applicant will decide whether to request substantive examination within the statutory time limit. During this period, if the applicant does not request substantive examination, the application will be regarded as withdrawn or abandoned and become an invalid patent. This is because the application for a patent for invention has passed the preliminary examination, but it does not mean that the application will eventually be authorized. It just means that the content and form of the application meet the requirements of the patent application, but it does not mean that the content of the application meets the requirements of authorization. This kind of invalid patent has certain development value, but if it is not taken seriously, it will easily lead to intellectual property disputes. Therefore, when developing and utilizing, we must first check the novelty and then consider it after confirmation.