On-the-job civil servants can completely apply for patents, but the following personnel can't apply for patents: those who hold patent agency qualification certificates and their agency qualifications can't apply for patents within one year after cancellation; those who work in the Intellectual Property Office and have the right to view and review patent application documents before the patent is made public; those who leave their posts can't apply for patents within one year; other legitimate Chinese and foreign citizens can apply for patents. This is not illegal and is protected by law.
In addition, when an on-the-job civil servant applies for a patent, if the application content is an invention made mainly by using the material and technical conditions of the enterprise, or an invention made within one year after resignation, retirement or job transfer, it should belong to a service invention, and the service invention patent right will be owned by the enterprise, and the patent unrelated to the work can be owned by the individual.