Once the idea of invention is formed in the mind, even if it is not successful at this time, the applicant should record the content of the invention, and once the invention is completed, it is necessary to immediately judge which content can apply for patent protection. On the basis of patent search, it is best to get the help of a licensed patent agent. As China adopts the first application system, it is very important to submit a patent application to the Patent Office as soon as possible after the evaluation. The same invention-creation can only be granted a patent right, which belongs to the first applicant. Keep it strictly confidential before applying, because publicity will lose novelty.
Write patent application documents
Applicants usually hire a licensed patent agent to help them apply for a patent. After the two parties sign the entrustment agreement, the applicant will generally provide the patent disclosure materials, and the agent will write the documents according to the contents of the disclosure materials. Patent application documents include specification, claims, drawings of specification, abstract of specification, etc. Patent claim is a legal document to determine the scope of patent protection, while other documents disclose the invention in detail and give literal and substantive support to the scope of patent claim protection.
Patent retrieval
Next, the applicant needs to conduct a comprehensive patent novelty search, which includes not only China patents, but also scientific research papers, foreign patent documents and China public publications. If you can't retrieve the same or similar existing technology as the invention, you can consider applying for a patent as soon as possible. Generally speaking, a licensed patent agent can provide valuable reference information for the applicant.
There are millions of patent documents in China National Intellectual Property Administration's websites and archives, and free patent databases are opened on the websites of patent departments in various countries for public inquiry.
Computer retrieval is not enough.
Machine inspection is very helpful in many cases, but it is not foolproof. Depending on the database used, the user's retrieval experience and language level, there will be different retrieval results, and sometimes important information, such as key pictures or chemical structures, will be missed.
In addition, if users don't know how to make use of network resources and lack the understanding of "novelty" and "creativity" stipulated by law, they will not be able to make a correct judgment on search results. Therefore, it is best to entrust China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office to search, which has the most comprehensive database resources in China. Searchers generally come from Patent examiners and have rich search experience and good foreign language skills. As the retrieval report given by the Patent Office is not analyzed, the applicant had better entrust a practicing patent agent to help judge and analyze.
Patent application process
After searching, the inventor can judge whether it is necessary to apply. After the patent application is accepted, it will temporarily keep the legal result uncertain, which can also be called "patent pending approval". Depending on the type of patent and the content of the invention, this time generally lasts 1-3 years until the patent application is authorized or rejected.