There are three kinds of patents in China: invention patents, utility model patents and design patents. All three patent applications need to be approved and authorized by China National Intellectual Property Administration. Moreover, the processes and processes of these three patents are different.
There are five main stages in the application for invention patent: 1. Acceptance; 2. Preliminary examination; 3. openness; 4. Substantive review; 5. authorization. Patent for appearance and patent for utility model do not include public examination and substantive examination. The above five stages are the procedural flow of invention patent application.
How many stages must an invention patent application go through?
1. Patent acceptance stage
This is the first step: after the applicant submits the documents to the patent office, the patent office will review the patent documents after receiving them. If the acceptance conditions are met, the Patent Office will determine the date of application, issue a notice of patent acceptance and notify the applicant.
2. Early stage
If the accepted patent application documents pay the application fee in accordance with the regulations, they will automatically enter the preliminary examination stage. The staff of the patent office will conduct a preliminary examination according to the scope of rights required by the patent law to see if the patent application documents are qualified. If it is unqualified, the Patent Office will notify the applicant to make corrections or statements within the prescribed time limit. If no reply is made within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn. If the defect has not been eliminated after the reply, it shall be rejected.
3. Patent document disclosure stage
After the first trial is passed, the patent application will enter the public stage. General invention patents will not enter the publication stage until 15 months after the filing date. The application may require the Intellectual Property Office to disclose the patent application documents in advance. After the publication of the application documents, the applicant's patent documents obtained the relative protection right.
4. Actual trial stage
During the actual trial of a patent application, the staff of the Intellectual Property Office will comprehensively examine whether the invention patent is novel, creative and practical and other substantive conditions stipulated in the Patent Law. After examination, if it is found that the application does not meet the authorization conditions or there are various defects, the applicant will be notified to state his opinions or make amendments within the specified time. If no reply is made within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. If the application still fails to meet the requirements after repeated replies, the application shall be rejected. Generally, substantive review takes a long time and requires patience.
5. Card authorization stage
After all the above procedures are passed, Patent examiners will proofread the patent, issue the patent authorization notice and registration notice after examination and revision, and pay the relevant fees within two months. Failure to pay shall be regarded as giving up the patent right.