The effective time for substantive examination of invention patents is three years. And it is calculated from the date of invention patent application. According to the relevant provisions of my country’s patent rights, within three years from the date of application for an invention patent, the patent administration department of the State Council may conduct a substantive examination of the invention patent application based on the applicant’s request.
Legal basis
Article 35 of the "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" that took effect on June 1, 2021
Invention patent application Within three years from the date of application, the patent administration department of the State Council may conduct a substantive examination of the application based on the request made by the applicant at any time; if the applicant fails to request a substantive examination beyond the time limit without justifiable reasons, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.
When the patent administration department of the State Council deems it necessary, it may conduct a substantive examination of an invention patent application on its own.
Article 36
When an applicant for an invention patent requests substantive examination, he shall submit reference materials related to his invention before the filing date.
If an application for an invention patent has been filed in a foreign country, the patent administration department of the State Council may require the applicant to submit within a specified time limit the information retrieved by that country for the purpose of examining the application or the information on the examination results; if the application is overdue without justifiable reasons, If not submitted, the application will be deemed withdrawn.