1, subject. Ordinary individuals who apply for a patent in China can apply for it themselves or entrust a patent agency to handle it. If it is a special individual, a patent agency must be entrusted. Special individuals include:
Foreigners who have no habitual residence or business office in China;
② China people who have lived or worked abroad for a long time;
3. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots. Chinese individuals who apply to foreign countries for patents for inventions and creations completed in China shall first apply to the patent administration department of the State Council, or they may entrust a patent agency to handle them, but they cannot apply by themselves.
2. Object. Inventions include inventions, utility models and designs. It is necessary to determine the type before applying. Different types of applications have different conditions, fees, rights to be protected and economic benefits. Applicants should choose according to their own situation. The protection period of the invention is 20 years, and the protection period of the utility model and design is 10 years, counting from the date of application.
3. Procedures. Invention patents are subject to preliminary examination and substantive examination, and utility models and designs are authorized to be announced only after preliminary examination.
(1) A patent for invention shall submit a request, specification, abstract of specification and claim, and the specification shall be attached when necessary.
(2) The utility model needs to submit the request, the patent claim, the specification, the appended drawings of the specification, the abstract of the specification and the appended drawings of the abstract.
(3) A patent for design shall submit a request, a design picture or a photograph. The patent for utility model and design takes about 8- 12 months. After the formal examination and approval, the authorization notice will be issued and the license will be obtained. After paying the license fee, you can get the patent certificate in about 2-3 months. The specific time depends on the speed of the examiner's examination, the degree of detail of the applicant's public information and the provision of drawings. Applicants should make full preparations before applying.