China implements the system of early publication and delayed examination of invention patent applications. The application for a patent for invention must go through the following three stages: the preliminary examination stage includes the steps of accepting the patent application, collecting patent fees, non-classified and obvious first investigation, format examination and publishing the patent application. The three characteristics of patent application are novelty, practicality and creativity. The substantive examination stage is to examine whether the invention meets the requirements of the patent law and whether it is novel, creative and practical. Where an application for a patent for invention complies with the provisions of the Patent Law and its detailed rules for implementation, it shall be published at the expiration of 18 months from the date of application, and the applicant may also request the early publication of its application. The applicant requests the Patent Office to conduct substantive examination of the application for a patent for invention within three years from the date of application. Therefore, after an application for a patent for invention is approved, it may take 3 years, 5 years or even longer to be granted a patent right. However, an application for a patent for utility model and an application for a patent for design do not need to undergo substantive examination. As long as the application has the documents and other necessary documents stipulated in the patent law, whether these documents conform to the prescribed format or not and whether the writing meets the requirements, the applicant can be granted a patent right.
If it does not meet the requirements of novelty, practicality and creativity, it cannot be granted a patent right, so the technical gold content of the invention patent is the highest among the three types of patents. However, utility model patents and design patents are not subject to substantive examination. As long as the application has the documents stipulated in the Patent Law and other necessary documents, regardless of whether these documents conform to the prescribed format and whether the writing meets the requirements, the applicant can be granted a patent right. Design patents are generally the design of products or packaging, which is easy for consumers to understand. Compared with invention patents, utility model patents are less creative and have smaller scope. Most importantly, an application for a patent for utility model cannot effectively prove its novelty, creativity and reliability without substantive examination.