1. Conditions for applying for a patent (granting a patent)
(1) Necessary conditions.
Article 22, Paragraph 1 of my country’s Patent Law stipulates: “Inventions and utility models for which patent rights are granted shall be novel, creative and practical.” Novelty means that there is no The same invention or utility model has been published in domestic and foreign publications, publicly used domestically or otherwise known to the public, and no other person has applied for the same invention or utility model to the Patent Office and recorded it in the application. in patent documents published in the future. Creativity means that the invention has outstanding substantive features and progress compared with the existing technology before the filing date. Practicality means that the invention or utility model can be manufactured or used and can produce positive effects. In addition, the design for which a patent is granted must be different or similar to the design that has been publicly published in domestic and foreign publications or publicly used domestically before the filing date.
(2) Prohibited conditions.
Article 5 of the Patent Law stipulates: "Patent rights shall be granted to inventions and creations that violate national laws, social ethics or harm the interests of the public." In addition, the following seven items are scientific discoveries, rules and methods of intellectual activities, diagnosis and treatment methods of diseases, food, beverages and condiments, medicines and substances obtained by chemical methods, animal and plant species, and substances obtained by nuclear transformation methods. No patents are granted.
2. Procedure for applying for a patent
(1) Consider whether a patent should be applied for based on technical and economic considerations. That is, whether the invention-creation technically meets the conditions for patent rights; economically, whether the invention-creation has sufficient economic value to be worthy of applying for patent protection.
(2) Writing application documents. The inventor or inventor can write the application documents for a patent by himself or entrust a patent attorney from a patent agency to write them on his behalf. Since applying for a patent is a highly legal and technical task, it is best to have a patent attorney write the patent application documents. To apply for an invention or utility model patent, documents such as a request, description, abstract, and claims should be submitted.
(3) Submit application documents to the China Patent Office or its agency. The applicant sends the prepared application documents to the China Patent Office or agency (the China Patent Office has agencies in six cities: Shenyang, Jinan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, and Changsha) for acceptance. Application documents are mailed, and the postmark date is the date of application. Mailed application documents must be packaged in large letter envelopes, and all documents must not be folded. When one envelope contains more than two application documents, a directory of documents must also be attached. .
(4) Two special patent applications. Confidential patent application. If the invention-creation for which a patent is applied for involves national security or major interests and needs to be kept confidential, it shall be handled in accordance with relevant national regulations. For applications for national defense systems, the patent applications shall be accepted by the patent agency established by the competent department of national defense science and technology, and the Patent Office shall make a decision based on the review opinions of the agency; for applications for non-defense systems, the Patent Office will forward the applications that require confidentiality review after acceptance The relevant departments of the State Council shall review the application, and the relevant departments shall notify the Patent Office of the review results within 4 months from the date of receipt. If the invention-creation for which a patent is applied for needs to be kept confidential, the Patent Office will treat it as a confidential patent and notify the applicant. Apply for a patent abroad. To apply for a patent abroad, you need to go through the following procedures: first apply for a patent with the China Patent Office; it must be approved by the relevant departments of the State Council; you should entrust a patent agency designated by the State Council to handle it; prepare the fees for applying for a patent abroad