First understand the basic knowledge of patents

What is an invention patent?

Invention is a technical solution to a specific problem that uses the laws of nature. The products it manufactures or the production methods it proposes are unprecedented, or are improvements to original products and production methods. Patented inventions can be divided into two categories: product inventions (such as machines, instruments, equipment, appliances) and process inventions (manufacturing methods).

According to the provisions of my country's patent law, an invention patent generally goes through the following procedures from application to authorization:

1. Provide a briefing document and entrust an agency to write the application documents, which generally requires 20 days - one month (you can omit this step if you do not entrust an agency)

2. Submit the application documents, obtain the acceptance notice from the Patent Office, and determine the application date. You can also submit the application in advance on the day of submitting the documents. Make a public statement and request substantive examination, which can speed up the examination process

3. The Patent Office will conduct a formal examination of the patent application documents, which will take about 2-3 months. After passing the preliminary examination, it will enter the public preparation stage

4. It takes about 6-8 months for the Patent Office to publish invention application documents

5. The Patent Office conducts substantive examination of invention patent documents, which takes about one and a half to two years, during which the examiner will The essence of the invention, that is, the novelty, creativity and practicality issues are communicated with the applicant (the entrusted agency communicates with the agency to determine the appropriate protection scope of the invention), and the back-and-forth communication may be repeated several times until the changes are made to the examiner's satisfaction

6. The Patent Office issues an authorization notice

7. The applicant goes through the procedures to receive the patent certificate

8. The patent certificate will be obtained in about 2-3 months

The entire process lasts about 2 and a half to 3 years. The specific time depends on the speed of the examiner's review and the thoroughness of the applicant's disclosure information.

What is a utility model patent?

Utility model refers to a new solution proposed for the shape, structure or combination of a product that is suitable for practical use. It only protects products with a certain shape. Method inventions and inventions of powders, liquids, materials without a certain shape can only apply for invention patents. Granting a utility model patent does not require substantive examination, the procedure is relatively simple and the cost is low. Therefore, small inventions related to tangible handicrafts in daily necessities, machinery, electrical appliances, etc. are more suitable for applying for utility model patents.

What is a design patent?

Appearance design refers to a new design of a product’s shape, pattern, color or their combination that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application. Therefore, the object of protection of a design patent is the decorative or artistic appearance design of a product. This design can be a flat pattern or a three-dimensional shape, and more commonly it is a combination of the two. The main condition for granting a patent is novelty, and the approval procedures and patent term are the same as those for utility model patents.

Utility model and appearance patents do not pass the substantive examination process, but only pass the formal examination, which takes about 6-8 months. After passing the substantive examination, the Patent Office will issue an authorization notice, and the applicant will go through the procedures for obtaining the certificate after receiving the letter. , it will take about 2-3 months to get the patent certificate after paying the license fee. The specific time also depends on the speed of the examiner's examination and the thoroughness of the applicant's information and the availability of drawings.

What are the conditions for granting patent rights?

The conditions for granting patent rights include two aspects: formal conditions and substantive conditions.

The so-called formal conditions refer to the document formats and necessary procedures necessary for the Patent Office to conduct preliminary examination, substantive examination and grant of patent rights to patent applications. This means that patent applications must be made in writing and application documents must be submitted with certain format and content requirements.

Substantial conditions can determine whether the invention for which patent protection is applied for is patentable. This is the key to determining whether a patent application can be granted patent rights. An invention or utility model to which a patent right is granted must possess novelty, creativity and practicality. The essential condition for granting a design is that it is not identical or similar to a design that has been publicly published in domestic and foreign publications or has been publicly used domestically before the filing date.

Novelty means that the invention or utility model applied for patent does not belong to the prior art, and the design applied for patent is not the same or similar to the existing design.

Creativity means that the invention or utility model applied for patent is progressive and advanced compared with existing technologies of the same type.

Practiceability means that an invention or utility model must be applicable for practical purposes and produce positive effects.

What needs special explanation is:

my country’s patent examination system determines that invention requirements are subject to formal examination and substantive examination, while utility models and designs are only subject to formal examination, not A substantive review is conducted (so the authorization time is very fast), so many agency firms claim to be 100% authorized. There is no problem with this, but the key point is that it may mislead the applicant: they think that the authorized patent is a valid patent. In fact, utility model and design patents are more likely to be invalidated without substantive examination. This is a fact, and It is determined by my country’s patent review system and is also my country’s patent reality.

It should be said that whether it is an invention patent or a utility patent, as long as it is a patent, it must comply with the three requirements of the patent. If it does not meet the three requirements of the patent, even if the patent certificate is obtained through examination during the application process, it may be If it is invalid, it will be invalidated in subsequent infringement lawsuits.

The utility model patent system makes the quality of patents mixed, and a large number of "non-patent" are mixed in the "patent" team, which makes the public have certain doubts about the patent itself. It is foreseeable that when the number of patent applications reaches a certain level, After the number of reforms, there will definitely be a reform and substantive review will be implemented for all, this is for sure. From a patent applicant's perspective, sometimes it may be cost-effective to spend less money in exchange for a possibility in a short period of time. Nowadays, there are more companies applying for patents than individuals, and the public is more aware of patents. Therefore, instead of investing huge advertising costs, it is better to invest less money to apply for patents. At least it can have a considerable advertising effect.

2. There are two ways to apply for a patent: entrust a patent agency to act as your agent or write the application documents yourself.

It should be said that writing patent application documents is a very technical job. Moreover, applying for a patent is not just a simple matter of writing patent application documents. It will specifically involve the matters involved in the patent. Search comparative documents in the field. If the comparative documents disclose the content of the invention, the agent should communicate with the inventor whether the technical problem can be converted and the corresponding technical solution. If the inventor cannot add new content in this case, the client is advised to withdraw the case; write the application When filing documents, claims and descriptions, we must take into account possible problems that may arise in responding to examination opinions and how to remedy them? In the event of invalidity, the claims can only be modified but not content removed from the description; in the event of infringement, is the scope clearly defined? Whether it is possible to bypass it, etc. It can be said that before applying for a patent, a qualified agent should have an overall grasp and understanding of the latest technical content in the field involved in the invention, and can well consider the interests of the applicant. , make a layout of the entire application, including whether to apply (can be retained as a technical secret), how to apply (invention, utility or appearance, whether it is necessary to apply abroad), possible existing technologies (how to circumvent), The possibility of invalidity, infringement analysis, etc. must be grasped at a macro level. Being able to do the above is the basic requirement for a mature and experienced agent. It is the applicant's luck to find such an agent, and the scope of protection of his patent can be given the strongest protection.

Unfortunately, in the current atmosphere in our country, applicants consider more about price and how to minimize agency fees, followed by quality. Maybe they think that after being operated by an agent, the results will be bad. It's almost the same. Faced with such demands from customers, agents have no choice but to lower their service standards. Most agents only do file transfer and format conversion of technical briefing content. This saves time and effort, keeps the quotation down, and the applicant is very happy. As for authorization, there is no problem with utility models and designs. As for inventions, as long as the scope of protection is narrowed as much as possible, the examiner will have no objection and everyone will be happy. When the patent is really needed to play a role, when the tiger comes out of the cage, the applicant will find that there is a sick cat in the cage. He has wasted the application fee, agency fee, and annual fee in vain, and all he got in exchange is a useless piece of white paper. Paper.

Fortunately, most patent applicants do not care about the quality of the patent when applying for a patent. They only care about the number of applications. As long as the application number is required, they can meet the requirements of the government, declare a technology enterprise, be tax-free, and declare high technology to the outside world. Enterprises can advertise, they can talk to laymen who don’t understand, and they can deceive consumers. So this kind of game just goes on and on.

In order to apply for a patent, many companies or individuals temporarily take a look at the patent law and learn the writing requirements (you can go to the website of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office of China to learn) to prepare a document that meets the formal requirements. The application process went smoothly, the authorization went smoothly, and the certificate was obtained. The key to the problem was that the "value" of the patent was gone and it was just a paper tiger, used to scare people.

Therefore, we suggest that if the applicant hopes that his patent can truly expand the scope of protection and truly exert the power of a "tiger" in the market, it is better not to worry about the money and to hire the best patent. The most professional agents are here to help you plan.

Selection of agencies and agents:

My personal opinion is for reference only. Patents are divided into technical fields, and agents are also divided into technical fields. Each agent Because the technical backgrounds are different, the fields of specialization are also different. Generally speaking, they are basically divided into the fields of mechanics, chemistry, electricity, and communications. How to judge the quality of an agent? On the one hand, you can obtain patents from the State Intellectual Property Office. If you search for this agent in the patent search column on the website of the Office, you can find out all the announced cases that he has acted for, and judge the field and level of the agent based on the fields to which these cases belong. Across three major categories (mechanical, chemical, and electrical), we do not recommend choosing such a "generalist" agent. Being broad and broad will not be specialized and refined. We do not recommend blindly following agents who have been in the industry for many years, because before the mid-1990s, agents did not need to take exams and basically belonged to the establishment of public institutions. The requirements for patent drafting were also very simple, so this kind of groping experience was of little significance. After 1999, the patent agency industry began to become more formalized. A large number of business agency agencies began to decouple from their affiliated units to establish corporate companies. Moreover, the agent examinations in the past few years began to become formal. This is a historical opportunity for my country to join the WTO. It has also attracted a large number of talents to pour into this industry. Therefore, we believe that the agents who entered this industry in 2000, 2001 and 2002 have been trained for about five years. Based on their comprehensive talent advantages and broad international vision, they are becoming an important part of this industry. The backbone of the team, their agency skills can be said to be quite mature. However, the old agents before were affected by the previous non-standard agency format, but they may not be able to do better. I have been in contact with such an agent. He is almost 80 years old and is still dawdling in handling cases. The quality of his representation is also dissatisfied. Just bother those agents who carry the name of a research institute, university, or patent office examiner or re-examination board. Such experience is basically meaningless in terms of agency experience.

Agency: We tend to choose agency firms that have a complete range of industries and categories, and whose agents are mainly young and middle-aged people. Such firms are more effective. Of course, there is also an element of luck. It would be best if you happen to meet an agent with mature agency experience, rich theory and practice, and a serious and responsible agent.

3. Prepare the materials required to apply for a patent

If you plan to entrust a patent agency, please prepare the following application materials:

To apply for an invention patent, you need to provide the following The following information:

1. Please provide 1. The applicant’s name (full name), address, and postal code; 2. A copy of the applicant’s business license, organization code certificate, or personal ID card; 3. , the name, address, and postal code of the inventor (natural person); 4. The telephone number, fax number, and contact address of the contact person who handles the invention patent application.

2. Complete the entrustment procedures (official seal of the unit or signature of a natural person).

3. Submit a technical disclosure document. In order for you to write an invention disclosure document more conveniently and for us to better understand the content of your invention and creation, please write the disclosure document in the following format.

1. Invention title

(Simply and clearly reflect that the technical content of the invention is a product, device or method (generally limited to 25 words))

(Brief description of the technical field, such as: the present invention belongs to an automatic temperature control device, the present invention relates to the heat treatment method of XX material, etc.)

3. Prior Art (Background Technology)

(Analyze and describe the state of the existing technology of the same type that is closest to the invention, and illustrate with the help of drawings when necessary. The specific content includes: structure, and the position of each component. and connection relationships or conditions, technological processes, etc., point out the problems of the existing technology realistically and analyze the reasons as much as possible).

IV. Contents of the invention

1. Purpose of the invention (point out the technical problems to be solved by the invention realistically.)

2. Technical solution (be clear , completely and accurately describe, in particular, the points of the invention that are different from the prior art should be described as clearly as possible, and not limited to the basic principles of the invention, so that those of ordinary skill in the field can implement it, and in When describing each technical means of the technical solution (including the position and connection relationship of each structure), correspondingly explain its role in the present invention. If it is difficult to describe clearly with only text description, please use drawings to explain. . If there are alternative technical solutions or alternative technical requirements, method steps, etc., they should also be proposed to form dependent claims)

Attachment: If there are English abbreviations or special meanings. Please specify its meaning and common Chinese name in the industry.

3. Technical effects (corresponding to the technical problems and technical solutions to be solved by the present invention, the effects that can be achieved by the present invention (including social, economic, and technical effects) should preferably be specific. Data) are described concretely and realistically, and scientific analysis and test results are the most convincing evidence)

5. Drawings and brief explanations of the drawings

(required). Provide necessary drawings to describe the invention (i.e. structural schematics, not engineering drawings), which can clearly reflect the point of the invention. For this purpose, various drawing methods can be used to uniformly number and name the components or structures. , relevant prior art drawings should also be provided when necessary)

6. Specific implementation methods

(List examples of implementation of the invention (concrete embodiments of the inventive concept), give one example. Specific implementation examples of the present invention partially reflect the content of the present invention, including various electrical components and the electrical connection relationships between them. If it is a method, please specify the specific method of each part, including static relationships and dynamic relationships. and effects)

Attachment: If there is an English abbreviation or code name with special meaning, please specify its meaning and the common Chinese name in the industry.

Information provided when applying for a utility model patent:

1. Please provide 1. The applicant’s name (full name), address, and postal code; 2. The applicant’s business license and organization Organization code number or copy of personal ID card; 3. Name, address, and postal code of the inventor (natural person); 4. Telephone number, fax number, and contact address of the contact person who handles the invention patent application.

2. Go through the entrustment procedures (the contract is provided by the agency)

3. Submit a technical briefing, and the agency will review whether it can apply for a patent. If it can be applied, the agency will send The entrustment agreement is given to you and the contract is signed

The technical disclosure letter can be written in the following eight parts: The name of the utility model (product) The technical field to which the utility model belongs Relevant background technology (state the existence of the background technology Defects) The purpose of the utility model or the technical problem to be solved The key points of the technical solution adopted by the utility model The beneficial effects achieved by the utility model (compare with the background technology) Drawings and descriptions of the drawings (required) The specific implementation scheme adopted by the utility model (Be as detailed as possible)

(The drawings in the description refer to the use of graphics to supplement the description of the text part of the description, so that people can intuitively and vividly understand each technical feature and the overall technical solution of the invention.

)

Applying for a design patent:

1. Please provide 1. The applicant’s name (full name), address, and postal code; 2. The applicant’s business license and organizational structure A copy of the code certificate or personal ID card; 3. The name, address, and postal code of the inventor (natural person); 4. The telephone number, fax number, and contact address of the contact person who handles the invention patent application.

2. Complete the entrustment procedures (official seal of the unit or signature of a natural person).

3. Provide pictures or photos of the design (preferably taken with a digital camera). The pictures or photos refer to the six-sided orthographic view of the design product (ie: front view, rear view, left view, right view, top view, bottom view) and perspective view. If there are no design points on the view, it can be omitted; if the view is symmetrical, one view can be omitted. The view size proportions in the above pictures or photos should be consistent. The size of the pictures or photos should be between 3cm×8cm and 15cm×22cm. The background of the picture or photo should be a solid color, and the background should not contain other objects or patterns that are not related to this design. At the same time, the photo must be free of factors such as strong light and shadow that affect the image effect. To request protection of a color design, one copy of both color and black-and-white pictures or photos must be submitted at the same time. If you are not familiar with the production requirements for pictures or photos, the agency can produce the pictures or photos required for the application on your behalf

4. Sign an entrustment contract and pay the patent application fee:

Patent application fee Including two parts: official fees and agency fees

General agency fees are as follows

The fees for domestic natural persons and legal persons to apply for invention patents are as follows (per item):

Invention Official fee (yuan) Agency fee (yuan)

1. Patent application fee 950 4000-6000

2. Substantive examination fee 2500 1000-2000

3. Patent certificate registration fee 255 -

4. Patent application maintenance fee (after the third year) 300 (annual) -

5. Annual fee for the first to third years of the grant year : 900

Year 4-6: 1200

…….. -

The fees for applying for invention patents by foreign natural persons and legal persons are as follows (each item): < /p>

Invention official fee (RMB) Agency fee (USD) Total (USD)

Patent application fee 950 500 615

Substantial examination fee 2500 150 455

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Patent certificate registration fee 255 80 111

Patent application maintenance fee 300 (each year after the third year)

Annual fee for the year of authorization 900 or 1200 50 159 or 195 < /p>

(Note: The fee for responding to the review opinions will depend on the circumstances)

(Note: 1. If the applicant is an organization, the superior authority shall issue a proof of enterprise losses, the above-mentioned application fee, substantive examination fee , The annual official fee for the year of authorization can be reduced by 70%, and the application maintenance fee can be reduced by 60%; if the applicant is an individual, the application maintenance fee can be reduced by 85%, and the application maintenance fee can be reduced by 80%. 2. Reply to the review opinions during the substantive examination. Charges apply depending on the situation.)

The fees for domestic natural persons and legal persons to apply for utility model patents are as follows (per item):

Utility model official fees (fees after mitigation are in brackets) Agency fee (yuan) )

1. Patent application fee 500 (150) 2500 (excluding drawings)

2. Patent certificate registration fee 205 -

3. Year of authorization Fee 600 (180) -

The fees for domestic natural persons and legal persons to apply for design patents are as follows (per item):

Official design fee (after reduction) Agency fee (yuan)

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1. Patent application fee 500 (150) 1000

2. Patent certificate registration fee 205 -

3. Annual fee for the year of authorization 600 (180) -

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Note: Various regions may have patent application funding policies issued by the government, which can subsidize patent fees. You can consult various agencies. After all, the country’s money should not be wasted.

5. It takes about 10-20 working days for the agent to prepare the application documents, and its efficiency depends entirely on the degree of detail provided by the application materials.

After preparing the documents, the agent will ask the applicant to review the application documents. If there are no problems, the application can be submitted. Generally, a patent application acceptance notice will be issued on the day of application, thus entering the review process.

6. Examination process of the Patent Office

Examiner’s patent examination process

Invention:

According to the provisions of my country’s patent law, a Invention patents generally go through the following procedures from application to authorization:

1. Provide a briefing and entrust an agency to write the application documents, which usually takes 20 days to a month

2. Submit the application documents, obtain the acceptance notice from the Patent Office, determine the application date, and submit an advance disclosure statement and request substantive examination on the day of submission, which can speed up the examination process

3. The Patent Office’s review of patent applications The document will undergo formal review, which will take about 2-3 months. After passing the preliminary review, it will enter the public preparation stage

4. The patent office will publish the invention application documents, which will take about 6-8 months

5 , The Patent Office conducts a substantive examination of invention patent documents, which takes about one and a half to two years. During this period, the examiner communicates with the applicant on the essential content of the invention, that is, the novelty, creativity and practicality (the entrusted agency communicates with the agency to determine The appropriate protection scope of the invention), the communication may go back and forth several times until the changes are made to the examiner’s satisfaction

6. The Patent Office issues an authorization notice

7. The applicant applies for the patent Certificate procedures

8. Obtain the patent certificate in about 2-3 months

The whole process lasts about 2 and a half to 3 years, the specific time depends on the examiner's review speed and The degree of thoroughness of the applicant’s disclosure information.

Utility models and designs:

1. Provide a briefing document and entrust an agency to write the application documents, which usually takes 10 working days

2. Submit the application Documents, obtain the acceptance notice from the Patent Office, and determine the application date

3. The Patent Office conducts a formal review of the patent application documents, which takes about 3-6 months

4. The Patent Office issues Authorization notice

5. The applicant goes through the procedures for obtaining the patent certificate

6. Obtaining the patent certificate after about 2-3 months

The whole process lasts about 1 year, the specific time depends on the review speed of the examiner and the thoroughness of the applicant's information.

7. Authorize and handle the licensing matters (pay the licensing fee, and the patent certificate will be issued in about two months). Note that the annual fee must be paid one month before and after the annual application date.

Answer: Feng Qingyang Intellectual Property - Jianghu Rookie Level 4 6-5 12:32

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Answer: Fang Chenqing - Assistant Level 3 6 -7 20:16

Go to a special place to ask. authority.

Answer: xw4sjjuan - Manager Level 4 6-7 20:22

Guangdong Huizhi Patent Agency

Guangdong huizhi Pantent Agency

1. Materials required:

1. Applying for invention or utility model patent:

It is necessary to provide information about the project to be patented A technical communication document, the general content of which is as follows:

(1) Name of the application project;

(2) Analysis of the shortcomings of the original technology;

(3) Describe the technical features of this application, and point out the main differences and characteristics of this application compared with the original technology. When——

*When the subject of the application is structure, write down the structural composition and each The connection relationship between the components, and provide a structural schematic drawing, preferably a sample;

*When the application topic is formula, write down each component, the content range of each component and the best content value, and indicate the role of each ingredient in the formula;

*When the application subject is a manufacturing method, write down the manufacturing process and process conditions of each step;

( 4) The advantages and technical effects achieved by this application.

2. Apply for design patent:

You can provide a six-sided view and a three-dimensional view of the product to be applied for patent, or you can provide a real sample (it is best to provide it together), or Contact our staff to come to your company to take photos of the products for which you want to apply for a patent.

), apply for a utility model patent; for major inventions, processes, and formulas, apply for an invention patent.

2. Entrustment procedures:

To entrust our firm to handle patent matters, you must first sign a "Patent Agency Contract" and a "Patent Agency Power of Attorney".

* Applications in the name of an organization must be stamped with an official seal, and a copy of the business license and organization code must be provided;

* Applications in the name of an individual must be signed and a copy of the ID card must be provided.

3. Patent application fee:

1. Invention patent:

a. In the name of the company: 3500/item In the name of the individual: 3000/item

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(Including application fee, agency fee, domestic patent search fee and drawing fee)

2. Utility model patent:

a. In the name of the company: 2,000 yuan/ Items in individual names: 1,600/item

(Including agency fees, application fees, domestic patent search fees, drawing fees)

3. Design patent:

a. In the name of the company: 1000 In the name of the individual: 800

(Including agency fee, application fee, picture fee, search fee)

IV. Work procedures:

After your company and our firm have completed the above entrustment procedures and handed over the relevant information and fees to our firm, our firm will complete the preparation and submission of application materials within the following time:

5 to 10 working days for appearance design

10 to 20 working days for invention or utility model

*If your company needs to review the first draft of the application document, our firm will review it within 5 to 10 working days Submit the first draft of the application documents to your company within working days

*If the information provided by your company needs to be supplemented according to the requirements of the application documents, the above time will be postponed in sequence