1. What is a design patent? A design patent is the object of patent rights and the object of protection by the patent law. It refers to a design for which patent rights should be granted according to law. It is completely different from an invention or utility model, that is, the appearance design is not a technical solution. Article 2 of China’s Patent Law stipulates: “Design refers to a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application based on the shape, pattern, or combination of the product, as well as the combination of color, shape, and pattern. It can be seen that , the design patent shall meet the following requirements:

⑴. It refers to the design of shape, pattern, color or their combination;

⑵. It must be a design for the appearance of the product;

⑶. Must be aesthetically pleasing;

⑷. Must be suitable for industrial applications

2. Application stage

Apply for appearance For design patents, patent application documents should include: design patent application form, pictures or photos. If color protection is required, color pictures or photos should also be submitted in duplicate. If pictures are submitted, they should be pictures. They should all be photos, and pictures or photos must not be mixed. If a description of the picture or photo is required, a brief description of the design should be submitted. If a patent agency is entrusted, a letter of authorization for application fee reduction should be submitted. and corresponding supporting documents.

3. Examination stage

China implements a preliminary examination system for design patent applications. During the preliminary examination process, the examiner will focus on the forms in the application documents. Issue a notice of correction. The applicant will make corrections in response to the notice. At the same time, the examiner will examine whether the client is a client of design patent protection. If there is a client who is not a client of design patent protection, the examiner will issue a notice of examination opinion. , the applicant responds to the examination opinion notice or makes modifications to the application documents

4. Authorization stage

(1) Authorization: After passing the preliminary examination, the examiner will issue an authorization. Notice of grant of patent right. After receiving the notice of grant of patent right, the applicant needs to go through the following registration procedures: pay the patent registration fee, annual fee for the year of authorization, announcement printing fee and patent certificate stamp tax within the specified period.

⑵. Issuance of certificate: The applicant can obtain the patent certificate within about 2-3 months after completing the registration procedures.