Even if the applicant does not file an application for substantive examination, when the application enters the substantive examination stage, the Patent Office will send a letter to the applicant asking him to submit a request for substantive examination to the Patent Office.
When requesting substantive examination, the applicant for a patent for invention shall submit reference materials related to his invention before the filing date.
Where an application for a patent for invention is filed in a foreign country, the patent administration department of the State Council may require the applicant to submit the information retrieved during the examination of his application in that country or the information on the examination results within a specified time limit; If the application is not submitted within the time limit without justifiable reasons, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.