1. Inquire about the legal status of patents through China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Registry:
When granting a patent right, the Patent Office shall establish a patent register.
The contents registered in the patent register include: grant of patent right, patent application right, invalidation of patent right, termination of patent right, restoration of patent right, pledge, preservation and cancellation of patent right, filing of patent licensing contract and compulsory licensing of patent implementation.
The items registered in the patent register are stored in the computer database, printed by the computer when paper is needed, and take effect after being stamped with the special seal of the certificate.
The matters recorded in the patent register have legal effect and are protected by law. With the consent of China National Intellectual Property Administration, anyone can consult or copy the relevant contents in the patent register, and request China National Intellectual Property Administration to issue a copy of the patent register.
Through the contents recorded in the patent register, we can know whether the patent has expired. If you request a copy of the register, you have to pay a fee.
2. Log in to Intellectual Property Publishing House and use the "legal status inquiry" function to inquire whether the patent has expired:
Patent legal status information mainly includes: the effectiveness of substantive examination request, invalidation of patent right, termination of patent right, restoration of rights, patent application right, transfer of patent right, filing of patent license contract, pledge, preservation and cancellation of patent right, changes of explanation matters and notice matters.
However, there is a certain lag in retrieving system information, and the real-time and accurate legal status information should be based on the contents recorded in the patent register.
Three, in the China invalid patent database officially released by the Intellectual Property Press, query whether the patent has expired.
Extended data:
Three reasons for patent invalidation:
1, the patent application documents do not meet the requirements of preliminary examination:
When applying for a patent for invention or utility model, the patent applicant must submit five documents, including the request, specification, patent claim, drawings and abstract.
After accepting the patent application, China National Intellectual Property Administration will conduct a preliminary examination or a formal examination. It mainly includes: whether the application procedures are complete, whether the documents are complete, whether the instructions comply with the provisions of the patent law, whether the identity of the applicant meets the requirements of the patent law, whether the invention theme belongs to the scope of patent protection, whether the application fee has been paid, etc.
If the above matters do not meet the requirements, the applicant shall be required to make corrections within a specified time limit. If the applicant fails to make corrections within the time limit, his application shall be deemed to be withdrawn. If it still does not meet the requirements of the patent law after correction, it shall be rejected. No matter whether the patent application is deemed to be withdrawn or rejected, it is an invalid patent.
2. The patent applicant withdraws or gives up after the application is published:
China's patent law implements the system of "early publicity and delayed examination".
After preliminary examination, China National Intellectual Property Administration thinks that the application for a patent for this invention conforms to the provisions of the Patent Law. After 65,438+08 months from the date of filing, the applicant's invention was published immediately, and the application content (abstract) was published through the Bulletin of Invention Patent, and the application for invention patent was also published.
After the publication of a patent application, it will not immediately enter the substantive examination procedure, but the applicant will decide whether to request substantive examination within the statutory time limit. During this period, if the applicant does not request substantive examination, the application will be regarded as withdrawn or abandoned and become an invalid patent.
This is because the application for a patent for invention has passed the preliminary examination, but it does not mean that the application will eventually be authorized. It just means that the content and form of the application meet the requirements of the patent application, but it does not mean that the content of the application meets the requirements of authorization.
This kind of invalid patent has certain development value, but if it is not taken seriously, it will easily lead to intellectual property disputes. Therefore, when developing and utilizing, we must first check the novelty and then consider it after confirmation.
3. Refusing to submit foreign application materials without justifiable reasons shall be deemed as withdrawal:
Where an application for a patent for invention has been filed in a foreign country, the applicant shall, when requesting substantive examination, submit the information retrieved from the examination of the application in that country or the information on the examination results. This mainly refers to the principle of "priority" enjoyed by members of the Paris Convention when they apply for patent protection again in China.
The so-called "priority" means that the nationals of the member countries of the Paris Convention can apply for patent protection to all other contracting parties within a certain period of time after applying for a patent for invention and creation for the first time to one contracting party, with the date of the first application as the date of the subsequent application.
If the applicant refuses to submit the foreign application materials without justifiable reasons, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn and the patent application shall be invalid for China. Because some of these applications may have been authorized abroad and have high technical content, China's patent law does not protect such foreign patents, and citizens can boldly use them without worrying about causing intellectual property disputes.
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