On-the-job civil servants can completely apply for patents, but the following personnel can't apply for patents: those who hold patent agency qualification certificates and their agency qualifications can't apply for patents within one year after cancellation; those who work in the Intellectual Property Office and have the right to view and review patent application documents before the patent is made public; those who leave their posts can't apply for patents within one year; other legitimate Chinese and foreign citizens can apply for patents. This is not illegal and protected by law.
Legal basis:
Provisional regulations on state civil servants
Article 31 State civil servants shall not engage in any of the following acts: doing business, running enterprises or participating in other profit-making business activities.
Article 49 State civil servants shall not hold part-time jobs in enterprises or profit-making institutions.