Is it easy for an application for a patent for invention to enter the substantive examination stage?
Conduct a preliminary examination before the substantive examination stage of the invention patent. The main contents of the preliminary review include two contents:
(1) Review the format of the patent application documents: check whether the patent application documents are complete and the format conforms to the regulations, such as whether all the columns in the request are complete and correct, and whether the application fee has been paid according to the regulations. Those who pass the examination will be notified by the Patent Office (usually within one month) and get the patent application number.
(2) Examination of the contents of the patent application: whether it "violates national laws, social morality or harms public interests"; Whether it clearly falls within the scope of "no patent right is granted" as stipulated in Article 25 of the Patent Law, whether it belongs to national security or major interests, it should be kept confidential.
Preliminary examination is relatively easy, as long as the patent application documents are complete, the format conforms to the regulations, and it does not violate national laws and social ethics, and does not harm public interests.
How long will it take to examine the substance of the invention patent?
Within three years from the date of filing, the patent administration department of the State Council may examine the application according to the request made by the applicant at any time; If the applicant fails to request substantive examination within the time limit without justifiable reasons, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. Therefore, the time limit for filing substantive examination is from the date of patent application to three years, and it can be filed at any time.
After the request for examination of patent substance comes into effect, Patent examiners will formally examine the patent application, with the contents of novelty, creativity and practicality. In the process of review, the examiner will generally issue a notice of review opinions, and the applicant will reply to the notice issued by the examiner. The reply period of the first notice of review opinions is 4 months, and the reply time of the subsequent notice of review opinions is 2 months. For an application for a patent for invention, it is normal for the applicant to receive 2-3 notices of examination opinions. For applications with high difficulty in authorization, it is possible to receive more than 5 notices of review opinions. Therefore, the time limit for replying to the notice of examination opinions is related to the number of the notice of examination opinions and the speed of replying to the notice of examination opinions.
To sum up, the period for replying to the review opinions should be about 4 months to 8 months.
The above is about how easy it is for the invention patent to enter the substantive examination stage, and how long will it take? Although the invention patent has a high "gold content", it is difficult to apply. Intellectual property suggests that applicants apply for patents quickly, and technical protection is one step ahead.