Second, for an application for a patent for invention, the Patent Office will issue a notice of examination opinions at least once and ask for a reply within the prescribed time limit.
Third, if the Patent Office considers that your patent application meets the authorization conditions and the substantive examination stage is over, the Patent Office will send a document to inform you to register for authorization. Judging from the legal status, your patent application is probably still in the process of substantive examination.
Relevant legal knowledge:
According to the provisions of Article 35 of the Patent Law, the Patent Office conducts substantive examination of the application for a patent for invention.
The purpose of substantive examination of an application for a patent for invention is to determine whether the application for a patent for invention should be granted a patent right, especially whether it conforms to the provisions of the Patent Law on novelty, creativity and practicality.
According to the first paragraph of Article 35 of the Patent Law, the substantive examination procedure is usually initiated after the applicant makes a request. According to the second paragraph of this article, the substantive examination procedure can also be initiated by the Patent Office.
According to Article 39 of the Patent Law, if the application for a patent for invention is not found to be rejected after substantive examination, the Patent Office shall make a decision to grant the patent right for invention.
According to the provisions of Article 38 of the Patent Law, in the substantive examination, if the Patent Office considers that the application for a patent for invention still does not conform to the provisions of the Patent Law after the applicant has stated his opinions or made amendments, that is, there are still defects under the circumstances stipulated in Article 53 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law, it shall be rejected.
According to Article 32 of the Patent Law, the applicant may withdraw his patent application at any time before being granted the patent right. Article 36, paragraph 2, Article 37 of the Patent Law and Article 42, paragraph 2 of the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law also stipulate that a patent application shall be deemed as withdrawn in the substantive examination procedure.
How long does it take to examine the patent substance?
The time for examination of patent substance is uncertain, generally 6- 18 months, which depends on the content of the invention, the examiner's understanding of the invention, the examiner's work arrangement and the time for documents to travel back and forth between the examiner and the applicant or his agent. At present, the public service of patent examination process is free of charge.
The applicant for a patent for invention may amend the application for a patent for invention within three months from the date of filing a request for substantive examination and receiving the notice from the Patent Office that the application for a patent for invention has entered the substantive examination stage.
According to the Patent Law, the examination and approval procedure of an application for a patent for invention includes five stages: acceptance, preliminary examination, publication, actual examination and authorization. The application for a patent for utility model or design does not undergo early publication and substantive examination in the examination and approval, and there are only three stages: acceptance, preliminary examination and authorization.