Because under normal circumstances, it takes two to three years to complete.
At present, the process from application to authorization or rejection of an invention patent takes two to three years to complete under normal circumstances. Once an invention patent is authorized, the value of the certificate transfer itself ranges from 15,000 to more than 30,000, regardless of the technical transfer. The patent system is an imported product. In foreign countries, many applicants do not blindly pursue shortening the examination time. The long review time for invention patents is more of a system consideration.
Invention patents need to be published first and then substantively examined. Starting the substantive review some time after disclosure is conducive to the public understanding of the invention and leaving sufficient time for relevant stakeholders to provide feedback. For some applicants, their invention creation is a continuous process, so they do not pursue the first disclosure of the first-filed invention. After the first patent application, the second improved patent is already on the way. In order to prevent the patentability of the second patent from being destroyed by the disclosure of the first patent, it is necessary to extend the preliminary examination time of the first patent, which can be as long as more than 30 months. Allow sufficient confidentiality time for the applicant's subsequent patent application.