Patent agency industry organizations shall formulate self-discipline norms for patent agency industry, which shall not conflict with laws, administrative regulations and departmental rules. Patent agencies and patent agents shall abide by the industry self-discipline norms. Article 5 Patent agencies and patent agents shall abide by laws, administrative regulations and these Measures, abide by professional ethics and practice discipline, be honest and trustworthy, standardize their practice behavior, improve the quality of patent agents, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of clients and the normal order of the patent agency industry. Article 6 The patent administrative departments of China National Intellectual Property Administration and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government may, according to the actual situation, support and guide patent agencies to provide patent agency assistance services for small and micro enterprises, inventors and designers with no income or low income by formulating policies and establishing mechanisms.
Encourage patent agency industry organizations and patent agencies to use their own resources to carry out patent agency assistance. Article 7 The patent administrative departments of China National Intellectual Property Administration and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall strengthen the construction of e-government and the information release of patent agencies, optimize the patent agency management system, and make it convenient for patent agencies, patent agents and the public to handle affairs and inquire about information. Article 8 Without permission, no unit or individual may act as an agent for patent application and invalidation of patent right. Chapter II Patent Agencies Article 9 The organizational forms of patent agencies are partnerships, limited liability companies, etc. Partners and shareholders shall be citizens of China. Article 10 A partnership patent agency applying for a practice license shall meet the following conditions:
(1) Having the name of a patent agency that complies with laws, administrative regulations and the provisions of Article 14 of these Measures;
(2) Having a written partnership agreement;
(3) Having an independent business place;
(4) Having two or more partners;
(5) The partner has a patent agent qualification certificate and has more than two years' experience as a patent agent. Article 11 A patent agency in the form of a limited liability company applying for a practice license shall meet the following conditions:
(1) Having the name of a patent agency that complies with laws, administrative regulations and the provisions of Article 14 of these Measures;
(2) Having written articles of association;
(3) Having an independent business place;
(4) Having five or more shareholders;
(5) More than four fifths of the shareholders and the legal representative of the company have the patent agent qualification certificate and have more than two years of patent agent practice experience. Article 12 To apply for a practice license, a law firm shall meet the following conditions:
(1) Having an independent business place;
(2) There are two or more partners or full-time lawyers who have obtained the patent agent qualification certificate. Article 13 Under any of the following circumstances, a person may not become a partner or shareholder of a patent agency:
(a) does not have full capacity for civil conduct;
(2) Having received criminal punishment for intentional crime;
(three) unable to engage in full-time patent agency work;
(four) the patent agency where it belongs is dissolved or its practice license is revoked, and it fails to properly handle the unfinished patent agency business.
If a patent agency obtains its practice license by cheating, bribery or other improper means and is revoked or revoked according to law, its partners, shareholders and legal representatives shall not be the new partners, shareholders or legal representatives of the patent agency within three years from the date of making the punishment decision. Article 14 A patent agency can only use one name. Except for law firms, the names of patent agencies should contain the words "patent agency" or "intellectual property agency". The name of a branch of a patent agency consists of the full name of the patent agency, the name of the city or region where the branch is located, and "branch" or "branch".
The name of a patent agency shall not be the same as or similar to the name of a patent agency that is in use or has been used nationwide.
When applying for a practice license, a law firm may use its name.