1, subject. Ordinary individuals who apply for a patent in China can apply for it themselves or entrust a patent agency to handle it. If it is a special individual, a patent agency must be entrusted.
Special individuals include:
Foreigners who have no habitual residence or business office in China;
② China people who have lived or worked abroad for a long time;
3. Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan compatriots. Chinese individuals who apply to foreign countries for patents for inventions and creations completed in China shall first apply to the patent administration department of the State Council, or they may entrust a patent agency to handle them, but they cannot apply by themselves.
2. Object. Inventions include inventions, utility models and designs. It is necessary to determine the type before applying. Different types of applications have different conditions, fees, rights to be protected and economic benefits. Applicants should choose according to their own situation. The protection period of the invention is 20 years, and the protection period of the utility model and design is 10 years, counting from the date of application.
3. Procedures. Invention patents are subject to preliminary examination and substantive examination, and utility models and designs are authorized to be announced only after preliminary examination.
(1) A patent for invention shall submit a request, specification, abstract of specification and claim, and the specification shall be attached when necessary.
(2) The patent for utility model shall submit the request, the patent claim, the specification, the appended drawings of the specification, the abstract of the specification and the appended drawings of the abstract.
(3) A patent for design shall submit a request, a design picture or a photograph. The patent for utility model and design takes about 8- 12 months. After the formal examination and approval, the authorization notice will be issued and the license will be obtained. After paying the license fee, you can get the patent certificate in about 2-3 months. The specific time depends on the speed of the examiner's examination, the degree of detail of the applicant's public information and the provision of drawings.
Applicants should make full preparations before applying.
(1) Learn about relevant laws and regulations in detail and be familiar with all application processes.
(2) Understand the existing level in the technical field, search domestic and foreign patents, and analyze the feasibility of your invention.
(3) do a good job of confidentiality. Costs have slowed down. The patent fees allowed to be reduced or exempted include five items: application fee, maintenance fee for invention patent application, substantive examination fee for invention patent, reexamination fee and annual patent fee for three years after authorization.
1. Types of patent applications
There are three kinds of patent applications: invention, utility model and design. You may apply for a patent for invention for a new technical scheme proposed for a product, method or improvement; You can apply for a patent for utility model for a new technical scheme that is suitable for practical use according to the shape, structure or combination of products; A new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application is made according to the shape, pattern or combination of them, and the combination of color and shape and pattern, and can apply for a patent for design.
To apply for a patent for invention, the application documents shall include: the request for a patent for invention, the specification (with attached drawings when necessary), the patent claim, the abstract and the attached drawings in duplicate.
For an application for a patent for invention involving amino acids or nucleotide sequences, the specification shall include a sequence list, which shall be submitted as a separate part of the specification, and at the same time, a CD or floppy disk containing the sequence list that meets the requirements of China National Intellectual Property Administration shall be submitted.
To apply for a patent for utility model, the application documents shall include: the request for a patent for utility model, the specification, the drawings of the specification, the claims, the abstract and the drawings in duplicate.
To apply for a patent for design, the application documents shall include: a request for a patent for design, pictures or photographs in duplicate. If color protection is needed, a color and a black-and-white picture or photo shall also be submitted. If pictures are submitted, two copies shall be pictures; If photos are submitted, two copies are photos, and pictures or photos shall not be mixed. If it is necessary to explain the pictures or photographs, a brief description of the design shall be submitted in duplicate.
3. The department that accepts the patent application
When applying for a patent, the applicant shall submit or mail the application documents directly to the China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office (hereinafter referred to as the Patent Office Reception Office), or to the patent agency established in China National Intellectual Property Administration. At present, China National Intellectual Property Administration patent agencies have been established in Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Changsha, Chengdu, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Harbin and Changchun. The national defense patent branch specializes in accepting national defense patent applications.
To apply for a patent, the necessary application documents shall be submitted and the fees shall be paid in accordance with the regulations. Patent applications must be handled in written form or electronic application form. Written application documents cannot be replaced or omitted by oral explanation or providing samples or models. In the patent examination and approval procedure, only written documents have legal effect. All formalities should be signed according to regulations, and the signature should be exactly the same as the name filled in the request. The signature shall not be copied. The procedures involving the transfer of rights shall be signed by all applicants, and other procedures may be signed by the representatives of the applicants. Where a patent agency is entrusted, it shall be signed by the patent agency. If supporting documents or attachments are required, the supporting documents and attachments shall be originals or photocopies, and photocopies shall not be used. If there is only one original, you can use a copy, but at the same time you need to attach a certificate that the copy issued by the notary office is consistent with the original.
The application documents for a patent for invention or utility model shall be arranged in the following order: request, abstract of specification, appended drawings of abstract, patent claim, specification, appended drawings of specification and other documents. The application documents for a patent for design shall be arranged in the order of the request, the picture or photograph and a brief explanation. All parts of the application documents shall be numbered separately with Arabic numerals.