Patents in China were initially divided into three categories: inventions, utility models and designs. 200 1 10 1 added "integrated circuit layout design".
The general principle is: apply for a patent for appearance design for a new aesthetic design made by the shape, pattern, color or their combination of products; The new technical scheme put forward by the shape and structure of the product or the combination of the two, the application for utility model patent for minor improvement, the application for invention patent for major innovation, and the new technical scheme involving methods, components and systems can only apply for invention patent. The scope of integrated circuit layout design is clear and needs no explanation. For details, please refer to the relevant websites in China National Intellectual Property Administration.
There are two categories that cannot apply for patents: one is scientific discovery, the laws and methods of intellectual activities (including disease diagnosis and treatment), animal and plant varieties, and the other is innovation in illegal crimes. The former is to publicize its benefits to human beings (such as the laws of physics), and the latter is to limit the harm to society (it is always impossible to make bad people smart).
The State Forestry Administration also has relevant protection measures for artificially cultivated new plant varieties.
2. Determine whether a patent agent is needed.
Personally, try not to use patent agents, which can save money.
However, the patent agency has its advantages: it has extensive information related to patent application and has a deep understanding of some aspects, saving the applicant's time (especially the time for novelty retrieval in the next step). For the related knowledge of patent agency, please refer to the related webpage of China National Intellectual Property Administration.
If you want to apply for a patent abroad, you must go through a qualified patent agency.
3. Inquire about information related to patent application.
This step is generally called novelty retrieval, that is, checking whether the applied patent has novelty. Now is the information society, you think new things may have existed for a long time; If you don't inquire about the information related to the patent you want to apply for, it may be futile to apply for a patent. You should know that China's patents are based on the first application and the first disclosure.
For applicants outside the field, they should first inquire about professional books and periodicals related to patent application, and then inquire about patents; For applicants in this field, it is enough to directly inquire about patents. If you don't apply for a patent for invention, just look up the China patent. Knowledge about patent literature can be obtained from the related web pages in China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Now you can query through the internet. In China, China National Intellectual Property Administration is the first choice for patent inquiry, and you can inquire all published patent documents.
It is still possible to conduct a preliminary search through the website, and the details need to be paid; Recommend the following patent search websites (if registration is free): China Intellectual Property Network, China Patent Information Network and Global Patent Information Network; In addition, Yixin (Beijing Economic Information Network) and China Patent Retrieval System once provided services, but there have been problems at present.
China patent can refer to IPC (International Patent Classification), and it is useful for any patent to be familiar with it.
4. As an individual or a commissioned development unit, it is necessary to determine whether it belongs to a service invention.
As an individual, if the patent to be applied for belongs to the same field (or is closely related to his own work), he must obtain a written certificate from the unit before applying for a personal patent. Otherwise, the patent is unsuccessful, and success is likely to cause ownership disputes.
Similarly, as an entrusted development unit, the ownership of patents should be determined in the contract with the entrusted unit from the beginning. Unless you don't want a patent, it will be controversial.