Invention patent: Article 2, paragraph 2 of China's Patent Law defines invention as: "Invention refers to a new technical scheme proposed for a product, method or its improvement." The so-called products refer to all kinds of new products that can be manufactured in industry, including solids, liquids and gases with certain shapes and structures. The so-called method refers to the method of processing raw materials and making various products.
Patent for utility model: The definition of utility model in the third paragraph of Article 2 of China's Patent Law is: "Utility model refers to a new technical scheme suitable for practical use for the shape, structure or combination of products." Like the invention, the utility model protects a technical scheme. However, the protection scope of utility model patent is narrow, which only protects new products with a certain shape or structure, and does not protect methods and substances without a fixed shape. The technical scheme of the utility model pays more attention to practicality, and its technical level is lower than that of the invention. Most countries' utility model patents protect relatively simple and improved technological inventions, which can be called "small inventions".
Design patent: The definition of design in Article 2, paragraph 4 of China's Patent Law is: "Design refers to a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application based on the shape, pattern or combination of color, shape and pattern of a product." And the conditions of its authorization are stipulated in Article 23 of the Patent Law. "The design that has been granted a patent right does not belong to the existing design; Before the filing date, no unit or individual has filed an application with the patent administration department of the State Council for the same design, and it is recorded in the patent documents published after the filing date. " Compared with the previous patent law, the newly revised patent law has higher requirements for design.