The "Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" is a law specially formulated to protect the patent rights for inventions, encourage inventions, promote the application of inventions, promote the development of science and technology, and meet the needs of socialist modernization.

revise history

Adopted at the fourth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on March 12, 1984.

The first amendment was made in accordance with the "Decision on Amending the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China" at the 27th meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 4, 1992.

According to the second amendment of the "Decision on Amending the" Patent Law of the People's Republic of China "at the 17th Meeting of the Ninth National People's Congress Standing Committee on August 25, 2000.

According to the Third Amendment of the "Decision on Amending the" Patent Law of the People's Republic of China "at the Sixth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on December 27, 2008.

Applications of patent in China

There are three types of Chinese patents: invention patents, Utility Model and design patents.

The protection period for invention patents is 20 years, and the other two periods are 10 years. After expiration, they will not be protected by law, and their technology will enter the public domain. Anyone can implement the patented technology.

Patent priority can be divided into domestic priority and international priority.

1.Domestic priority

Domestic priority, also known as "national priority", refers to a patent applicant who has filed a patent application with the same subject within 12 months from the date of the first patent application in the country. Can enjoy priority. National priority does not include design patents.

2. International priority

International priority, also known as "foreign priority", is the content of patent applicants within twelve months from the date the patent application was first filed by an invention or utility model in a foreign country, or Within six months from the date of filing the patent application, if another patent application is filed in China on the same subject, priority can be enjoyed in accordance with the agreement signed between the foreign country and China or the international treaties to which the foreign country is a party, or the principle of mutual recognition of priority

Patent application is a necessary procedure for obtaining patent rights. To obtain a patent right, the applicant must submit an application to the national patent office, which shall be approved and issued with a certificate.

When submitting a patent application to the national patent office, the applicant should also submit a series of application documents, such as a request, specification, abstract, and claims. With regard to patent applications, the provisions of the patent laws of various countries in the world are relatively consistent, but there are also many differences.

PCT National Phase Entries in China

Applicants who wish to obtain patent protection in China shall complete the formalities for entering the national phase of China (hereinafter referred to as entry procedures) within the prescribed time limit. If the applicant is a foreigner, foreign enterprise, or other foreign organization that does not have a long-term residence or business in China, it must entrust a patent agency established in accordance with the law to handle the relevant procedures.