As mentioned at the beginning, the application fee is reduced for qualified applicants. The conditions for reducing the payment of appearance patents are: first, individuals with an average monthly income of less than 3500 in the previous year; Second, enterprises with taxable income of less than 300,000 yuan in the previous year; Third, institutions, social organizations and non-profit scientific research institutions. Among them, if the patent applicant or patentee is an individual or unit, the 75 yuan application fee will be reduced by 85%; If two or more individuals or units are the same patent applicant or patentee, the fee will be reduced by 70%, and the application fee is 150 yuan.
Article 23 of the Patent Law stipulates the conditions for granting a patent for appearance: first, it does not belong to the existing design, and no unit or individual has filed an application with the patent administration department of the State Council and recorded it in the corresponding documents; Second, compared with the existing design or the feature combination of the existing design, there are obvious differences; Third, it cannot conflict with the legal rights obtained by others before the filing date. Generally speaking, patent law emphasizes the uniqueness and creativity of patent application.
Nowadays, with the increasingly prominent role of product design in enhancing product competitiveness. At present, the amendment to the Patent Law of People's Republic of China (PRC) has deliberated on product designs, explicitly granted patent protection to some designs, and extended the protection period of design patents.