Chapter I General Principles
Article 1 These Detailed Rules are formulated in accordance with the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) (hereinafter referred to as the Patent Law).
Article 2 All procedures stipulated in the Patent Law and these Detailed Rules shall be handled in written form or other forms stipulated by the patent administration department of the State Council.
Article 3 All documents submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules shall be in Chinese. Where the state has unified scientific and technical terms, it shall adopt standardized terms; If there is no uniform Chinese translation of foreigners' names, place names and technical terms, the original text shall be indicated.
In accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules, all kinds of certification documents and certification documents are in foreign languages. When the patent administration department of the State Council deems it necessary, it may require the parties concerned to attach a Chinese translation within a specified time limit; If it is not attached at the expiration date, it shall be deemed that the certificate and supporting documents have not been submitted.
Article 4 All documents mailed to the patent administration department in the State Council shall be submitted on the postmark date; If the postmark date is unclear, the date of receipt by the the State Council Patent Administration Department shall be the filing date, unless the parties can provide proof.
Various documents of the patent administration department in the State Council can be delivered to the parties by mail, direct delivery or other means. If the parties entrust a patent agency, the documents shall be sent to the patent agency; If a patent agency is not entrusted, the document shall be sent to the contact person specified in the request.
All kinds of documents mailed by the patent administration department in the State Council are presumed to be the date of receipt of the documents by the parties concerned from the date of issuance 15 days later.
Documents that should be served directly in accordance with the provisions of the patent administration department of the State Council shall be served on the date of service.
If the service address of the document is unclear and it cannot be mailed, it can be served on the parties by announcement. From the date of announcement 1 month later, the document shall be deemed to have been delivered.
Article 5 The first day of various deadlines stipulated in the Patent Law and these Detailed Rules shall not be counted as the deadline. If calculated in years or months, the expiration date shall be the corresponding day of the last month; If there is no corresponding day in the current month, the last day of the current month shall be the due date; If the due date is a legal holiday, the first working day after the holiday shall be the due date.
Article 6 Where a party delays the time limit specified in the Patent Law or these Rules or the time limit specified by the patent administration department in the State Council due to irresistible reasons, resulting in the loss of his rights, he may request the patent administration department in the State Council to restore his rights within two months from the date when the obstacle is removed, or at the latest within two years from the date when the time limit expires.
In addition to the circumstances specified in the preceding paragraph, if a party delays the time limit specified in the Patent Law or these Rules or the time limit specified by the patent administration department in the State Council for other legitimate reasons, resulting in the loss of his rights, he may request the patent administration department in the State Council to restore his rights within 2 months from the date of receiving the notice from the patent administration department in the State Council.
If a party requests the restoration of rights in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph or the second paragraph of this article, it shall submit a request for the restoration of rights, explain the reasons, attach relevant supporting documents when necessary, and go through the corresponding procedures that should be handled before losing the rights; In accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of this article, those who request the restoration of their rights shall also pay the fees.
Where a party requests to extend the time limit specified by the patent administration department in the State Council, it shall explain the reasons to the patent administration department in the State Council before the expiration of the time limit and go through the relevant formalities.
The provisions of the first and second paragraphs of this article shall not apply to the time limit stipulated in Articles 24, 29, 42 and 68 of the Patent Law.