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How to apply for a patent< /p>

Patent Application Guide

1. Types of Patent Applications

Patent applications are divided into three types: invention, utility model and design. New technical solutions proposed for products, methods or improvements can be applied for invention patents; new technical solutions proposed for the shape, structure or combination of products that are suitable for practical use can be applied for utility model patents; for the shape of the product , pattern or their combination, as well as the combination of color, shape, and pattern to create a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application, you can apply for a design patent.

2. What application documents should be submitted when applying for a patent?

If applying for an invention patent, the application documents should include: invention patent request, description (with drawings if necessary), Claims, abstract and drawings, each in duplicate. ?

For invention patent applications involving amino acid or nucleotide sequences, the sequence list should be included in the description and submitted as a separate part of the description. At the same time, the sequence list should also be submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office. A prescribed CD or floppy disk containing the sequence listing. ?

When applying for a utility model patent, the application documents shall include: utility model patent request, description, drawings of the description, claims, abstract and drawings, each in duplicate. ?

When applying for a design patent, the application documents shall include: design patent request letter, pictures or photos, each in duplicate. If you require color protection, you should also submit one color and one black-and-white picture or photo. If you submit pictures, both copies should be pictures. If you submit photos, both copies should be photos. Pictures or photos should not be mixed. If a description is needed for pictures or photos, a brief description of the design should be submitted in duplicate.

3. Department that accepts patent applications

When applying for a patent, the applicant should submit or mail the application documents directly to the Patent Office Acceptance Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as the Patent Office) Acceptance Office), or you can submit or mail it to the patent agencies established by the State Intellectual Property Office, currently in Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Changsha, Chengdu, Nanjing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an, Wuhan, Zhengzhou, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Harbin , Changchun established the Patent Agency of the State Intellectual Property Office; the National Defense Patent Branch specializes in accepting national defense patent applications.

4. How to apply for a patent

To apply for a patent, you must submit the necessary application documents and pay the fees as required. Patent applications must be made in writing or electronically. Written application documents cannot be replaced or omitted by verbal explanations or by providing samples or models. Only written documents have legal effect during the patent approval process. All formal documents must be signed and sealed in accordance with regulations, and the signatures and seals must be exactly the same as the names filled in the request. The signature may not be copied. Procedures involving the transfer of rights must be signed and sealed by all applicants. Other procedures may be handled by the applicant's representative. If a patent agency is entrusted, the signature and seal of the patent agency shall be handled. If the procedures need to be accompanied by supporting documents or attachments, the supporting documents and attachments shall be originals or copies, and photocopies shall not be used. If there is only one original copy, a copy can be used, but it must be accompanied by a certificate issued by a notary office that the copy is consistent with the original.

5. How to arrange application documents when submitting an application?

Invention or utility model patent application documents should be arranged in the following order: request, abstract of description, abstract with drawings, claims , instructions, instructions, drawings and other documents. Design patent application documents should be arranged in the order of request letter, pictures or photos, and brief description. Each part of the application document should be numbered sequentially using Arabic numerals.

6. What are the paper requirements for application documents?

The paper quality of application documents should be equivalent to the quality of copy machine paper. There should be no useless words, marks, frames, lines, etc. on the paper.

All documents must be in A4 size (210 mm × 297 mm) paper.

The paper for application documents should be used vertically and only on one side. The text should be arranged from left to right, leaving 25 mm of space on the left and top sides of the paper, and 15 mm of space on the right and bottom sides of the paper to facilitate publication and review. The first page of each part of the application document must use the form uniformly developed by the State Intellectual Property Office. These forms can be obtained from the Patent Office Reception Office, local patent agencies, or downloaded directly from the State Intellectual Property Office website.

7. What are the text and writing requirements for application documents?

All parts of application documents must use Chinese characters. If foreign names, place names and scientific and technological terms do not have a unified Chinese translation, the English or original text should be indicated. If the attachment or certificate provided by the applicant is in a foreign language, it should be accompanied by a Chinese translation. The application documents, including the request letter, should be typed or printed in Song font, imitation Song font or regular script. The handwriting should be black and the character height should be 3.5 to 4.5 mm. The line spacing should be between 2.5 and 3.5 mm. If documents are required to be submitted in duplicate, one shall be the original and the other shall be a copy. If there are pictures in the application documents, they should be drawn with ink and drawing tools, or drawn with drawing software. The lines should be even and clear and must not be altered.

8. Requirements for unity of patent application content

An invention or new utility model patent application shall be limited to one invention or utility model. Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to one general inventive concept can be filed as one application. A design patent application shall be limited to one design used in one product. Two or more designs for products of the same category that are sold or used as a set can be submitted as one application.

9. How to fill in and write application documents?

There are specific requirements for filling in and writing application documents. Applicants can fill in or write them by themselves, or they can entrust a patent agency to do it for them. . Although it is not compulsory to appoint a patent agent, considering the importance of carefully drafting application documents and the legal rigor of the approval process, it is worth promoting for inexperienced applicants. ?

10. Acceptance of patent applications

After the Patent Office Acceptance Office or each patent agency receives a patent application, for applications that meet the acceptance conditions, the application date will be determined and the application will be processed. No., a notice of acceptance is issued. The application documents submitted by the applicant to the Patent Office Acceptance Office or various patent agencies will be reviewed at that time to see if the application meets the acceptance conditions. If the application meets the acceptance conditions, the acceptance procedures will be completed on the spot.

11. Acceptance Notice

If you send the application documents to the Patent Office Acceptance Office, you will receive it from the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office (hereinafter referred to as the Patent Office) within about one month. ) and the returned application documents. If the applicant has not received a notification from the Patent Office for more than one month, the applicant should promptly check with the Patent Office Acceptance Office to avoid the application documents or notification being lost in the mail.

12. How to pay the application fee?

The application fee and other fees can be paid directly to the Patent Office Charge Office or Patent Agency, or remitted through a bank or post office. At present, banks use electronic transfer and post offices use electronic remittance. When the payer pays patent fees through the post office or bank, the correct application number or patent number should be written on the money order, and the abbreviation should be used for the name of the fee paid. The remitter should ask the bank or post office staff to enter the above payment information in the remittance postscript. If the remittance is made through the post office, the remitter should also ask the post office staff to enter the complete mailing address, including postal code.

13. When is the application fee payment time?

If the application documents are submitted in person to the Patent Office Acceptance Office or Patent Agency, the application fee can be paid at that time after obtaining the acceptance notice. If the application is submitted by mail, the application fee shall be paid after receiving the acceptance notice, but the date for payment of the application fee shall not exceed 2 months from the date of application.

14. Determining the payment date?

If the application fee or other fees are paid in person to the Patent Office Charges Office, the date of payment shall be the date of payment. When remitting fees to the Patent Office Charge Office, if the remittance method complies with relevant regulations, the actual date of remittance by the bank or post office shall be the date of payment. However, if it exceeds 15 days from the date of remittance to the date of receipt by the Patent Office, the date of receipt by the Patent Office shall be the date of payment, unless the post office or bank provides evidence.

15. Patent approval process?

According to the Patent Law, the approval process for invention patent applications includes five stages: acceptance, preliminary examination, publication, substantive examination and authorization.

Utility model or design patent applications do not undergo early publication and substantive examination during the approval process. There are only three stages: acceptance, preliminary examination and authorization.

16. Active modification and correction of application documents

Proactive modification and correction of application documents is also a procedure that applicants can choose as needed. Utility model and design patent applications are only allowed to submit active amendments within 2 months from the filing date; invention patent applications are only allowed to be submitted on the date of filing a request for substantive examination and receiving a notice from the Patent Office that the invention patent application has entered the substantive examination stage. Actively modify the application documents within 3 months.

17. Reply to various notices from the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office

(1) Comply with the response deadline. The consequences of late response and non-response are the same.

Reply to the issues pointed out in the examination opinion notice one by one. The reply can express agreement with the examiner's opinion and make corrections or modify the application in accordance with the examination opinion; it can also express disagreement with the examiner's opinion and provide defense and stated opinions and reasons.

(2) Defects in format or procedures can generally be eliminated through corrections; obvious defects are generally difficult to eliminate through corrections or modifications. In most cases, it can only be determined whether they exist or are obvious defects. Defend and state opinions.

(3) Corrections or modifications to an invention or utility model patent application shall not exceed the scope of the original description and claims, and modifications to a design patent application shall not exceed the scope of the original pictures or photos. . Modified documents should submit replacement pages in the prescribed format.

(4) The reply should submit documents in the prescribed format. Such as submitting an amendment or statement of opinion. Whether the applicant uses a supplementary letter or a statement of opinions shall be based on the examiner's requirements. Generally, a correction letter is used to correct formal issues or procedural issues, and a statement of opinion is used to amend the substantive content of the application. If the applicant disagrees with the examiner's opinion, a statement of opinion is used when making a defense.

18. Application deemed withdrawn and its restoration?

If the required procedures are not completed within the time limit, the application will be deemed withdrawn, and the Patent Office will issue a deemed withdrawal notice. If the applicant has legitimate reasons, he may request the Patent Office to restore his rights within 2 months from the date of receipt of the deemed withdrawal notice and explain the reasons. To request the restoration of rights, a "Request for Restoration of Rights" must be submitted in duplicate, explaining the legitimate reasons for delaying the time limit, and at the same time completing various uncompleted procedures that should be completed and paying the required fees. The re-application procedures and repayment of fees should generally be completed within the above two months.

19. Go through patent right registration procedures?

After preliminary review of utility model and design patent applications, and after substantive review of invention patent applications, if no reason for rejection is found, the Patent Office will issue Authorization notice and registration formalities notice. After receiving the authorization notice and registration formalities notice, the applicant shall complete the registration formalities and pay the prescribed fees within 2 months in accordance with the requirements of the notice. If the registration procedures are completed and the prescribed fees are paid within the time limit, the Patent Office will grant the patent right, issue a patent certificate, record it in the patent register, and announce it in the Patent Gazette. The patent right will take effect from the date of announcement. Failure to complete registration procedures within the prescribed time limit shall be deemed to have given up the right to obtain patent rights.

20. Reject the application and request reexamination?

During the examination procedure, after the applicant states its opinions or makes modifications or corrections at the request of the examiner, the Patent Office believes that the application still does not comply with the patent. If the application is stipulated in the law and its implementing rules, a decision to reject the application shall be made and the applicant shall be notified in writing. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the decision of the Patent Office to reject the application, he may request a reexamination to the State Intellectual Property Office Reexamination Committee within 3 months from the date of receipt of the notice. To request reexamination, a "request for reexamination" must be submitted in duplicate, stating the reasons for the reexamination. The reason for reexamination should be based on the appeal of the matters raised in the patent office's rejection decision, otherwise it will not be accepted. In order to support the reasons for reexamination or eliminate defects in the application documents, the applicant may attach relevant supporting documents or information when requesting reexamination, or may modify some of the contents involved in the rejection decision. Requests for reexamination shall be submitted jointly by all applicants.

Requests for reexamination are also subject to payment of prescribed fees.

21. Fees payable for registration procedures

When going through registration procedures, there is no need to submit any documents. The applicant only needs to pay the patent registration fee (including announcement printing fees) in accordance with regulations. Just include the annual fee, stamp duty and maintenance fee for invention patent application in the year of authorization. The annual fee amount for the year of authorization is the annual fee for the year of authorization.

22. Subsequent restoration of the right to obtain a patent right after being deemed to have given up

If the applicant fails to complete the registration procedures within the prescribed period, it will be deemed to have given up the right to obtain the patent right. If the applicant has legitimate reasons for delaying the deadline, he or she may request restoration of rights. The request for restoration of rights should be made within 2 months from the date of issuance of the notice of relinquishment of patent rights issued by the Patent Office, and at the same time, re-registration procedures should be completed (patent registration fees and annual fees for the year of authorization must be paid, and invention patent applications need to pay If a maintenance fee is required, the maintenance fee shall also be paid) and the prescribed rights restoration request fee shall be paid.

23. Maintenance of patent rights

After a patent application is granted a patent right, the patentee shall prepay the annual fee for the next year one month before the expiration of each year. If the annual fee is not paid or fully paid upon expiration, the Patent Office will issue a payment notice to notify the patentee to pay the annual fee within 6 months from the expiration date, and pay late payment fees at the same time. The amount of the late payment fee is calculated as an additional 5% of the full annual fee for that year for each month beyond the prescribed payment time; if the payment is not made at the end of the period, the patent right will be terminated from the date of expiration of the annual fee payable.

24. Termination of patent rights

The termination of patent rights can be divided into: (1) Termination upon expiration of term: The invention patent right shall be maintained for 20 years from the date of application. , the utility model or design patent right shall be maintained for 10 years from the date of application and shall be terminated in accordance with the law; (2) Termination for non-payment of fees: The Patent Office will issue a payment notice to notify the applicant of the payment of annual fees and late fees. If the annual fee and late payment fee are paid in full, the patent right shall be terminated from the expiration date of the previous year.

25. Invalidation of patent rights

If you request to declare the patent right invalid or partially invalid, you must pay the fee in accordance with the regulations, submit a request for invalidation in duplicate, and fill in the request for invalidation. The patent name, patent number and the underlying facts and reasons should be stated, and the necessary evidence should be attached. If any party is dissatisfied with the decision on a patent invalidation request, it may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within 3 months from the date of receipt of the notice. The Patent Office will register and announce the decision after it becomes legally effective. A patent right declared invalid is deemed to have ceased to exist from the beginning.

26. The legal effect of the patent register

The patent register is a legal document specially used by the patent office to record these patent procedures and changes in patent legal status. After a patent application has been granted, any person may request a copy of the patent register for the patent from the Patent Office. Requests for a copy of the patent register shall be subject to a fee (charged per patent). A copy of the patent register can be used as a certificate to prove the legal status of the patent in economic or legal affairs related to the patent.

27. Things to note when submitting application documents

If you apply for a patent or go through other procedures with the Patent Office, you can submit or mail the application documents or other documents directly to the Patent Office Acceptance Office or Any of the above patent agencies should pay attention to the following matters when submitting documents:

(1) To submit application documents or documents for various procedures to the Patent Office, the forms uniformly formulated by the State Intellectual Property Office should be used , the application documents should be in duplicate, and the formal documents can be in duplicate; the form can be downloaded from the Internet at www.sipo.gov.cn, or can be obtained from the acceptance hall of the State Intellectual Property Office or by letter.

(2) One form can only be used for one patent application.

(3) Applicants should keep drafts of various documents submitted to the Patent Office to ensure the consistency of document filling during the application review and approval process, and can serve as a reference when responding to examination opinions.

(4) Application documents are to be mailed and should be sent by registered mail. If you cannot send the application documents by registered mail, you can send them by express mail. Do not send the application documents by parcel. In addition to stating the detailed address (including postal code) of the patent office or patent agency, the registered letter should also be marked with “Application Documents” and “State Intellectual Property Office Patent Office Acceptance and Receipt” or “State Intellectual Property Office ×× "Patent Agency".

It is best not to submit the application documents through a courier company. Submit the application documents through a courier company. The date of actual receipt by the Patent Office acceptance office and each patent agency shall be the application date. One registered letter should only contain application documents or other documents for the same application. After mailing, the applicant should properly keep the registered receipt stub.

(5) The Patent Office does not accept samples, samples or models when accepting patent applications. During the examination procedure, when the applicant submits samples or models at the request of the examiner, if the applicant submits the sample or model in person at the patent office acceptance window, the applicant shall present the notice of examination opinion; if the applicant submits the sample or model by mail, it shall indicate on the email “In response to the examiner ××× ( name) request to submit a model".

(6) If the address of the applicant or the patentee changes, please promptly submit a change to the bibliographic items to the Patent Office; if the applicant terminates the agency relationship with the patent office, the applicant should go through the change procedures with the Patent Office.

Reference: State Intellectual Property Office

Hope it helps you