The term for invention patents in China is 20 years from the filing date. The term for utility model patents or design patents is 10 years from the filing date.
According to Articles 5 and 25 of the Chinese Patent Law, the following items are not patentable in China:
any invention-creation that is contrary to the law or social morality or that is detrimental to public interest
invention-creations relying on genetic resources of which the acquisition or use is not consistent with the provisions of the laws and regulations
scientific discoveries
rules and methods for mental activities
methods for the diagnosis or treatment of diseases
animal and plant varieties
substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation
two-dimensional designs of images or colours or combinations of the two that mainly serve as indicators
Computer programs as such cannot be patented, but they may be protected under the Regulations on Computers Software Protection, formulated in accordance with the Copyright Law. An invention containing a computer program may be patentable if the combination of software and hardware as a whole can actually improve the prior art, bring about technical results and constitute a complete technical solution.
In China, a service invention is an invention made by an employee of a company in the performance of his duties. In such cases, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the company, which will also be the patent holder after grant. Non-service inventions are those made by individual inventors.
Yes. China became a Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) contracting state on 1 January 1994. Since then it has been possible to designate China in international patent applications filed via the PCT route.
Yes. If a foreign applicant, enterprise or organisation does not have a residential or business address in China, they must appoint a legally established patent agent to represent them in the patent prosecution procedure in China.
Any document submitted under the Chinese Patent Law and its Implementing Regulations must be in Chinese. Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) applications can be filed in either Chinese or English. However, you must submit a Chinese translation of the application within 30 months of the priority date (extendible to 32 months subject to payment of a surcharge).
Yes. The priority term is 12 months from the earliest claimed priority. Multiple priorities are possible. Domestic priorities can be claimed within 12 months from the date of first filing in China. If a later application claiming domestic priority is filed, the earlier application is deemed to have been withdrawn.
Yes. Where an application contains two or more inventions, applicants may submit a divisional application on their own initiative or in accordance with an office action from an examiner. Divisional applications must be submitted on the basis of the initial application, no later than two months from the date of receipt of the notification of grant.
Applications for patents for invention are subject to substantive examination (novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability). Utility model applications undergo a formal examination only. However, in infringement disputes relating to utility model patents, the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) will on request examine conformity with the relevant provisions and produce an evaluation report.
You must submit a request for examination within three years of the filing date or, if priority is claimed, within three years of the priority date. If no request is filed within this time limit, the application is deemed to be withdrawn.
You must submit a request for examination within three years of the filing date or, if priority is claimed, within three years of the priority date. If no request is filed within this time limit, the application is deemed to be withdrawn.
Yes, you can. The State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) will conduct a preliminary examination and publish the application immediately afterwards (provided it is not rejected).
Yes. China has a similar third-party observations system to that of the European Patent Convention (EPC). Any person may submit observations on the lack of conformity of an application with the provisions of the patent law to the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO). This can be done at any time from the date of publication of the application to the announcement of the decision to grant.
Yes, you can request extensions of time limits specified by examiners at the Chinese Patent Office if you are unable to perform a certain act or procedure within the time limit concerned. You must explain the reasons why you are asking for an extension and pay a fee. However, there are certain time limits which may not be extended.
In the substantive examination procedure, the time limit for responding to the first office action is four months. The usual time limit specified by examiners in their various notifications is two months. For less complicated actions, a period of one month or less may apply. The time limit is calculated from the date on which the party concerned is presumed to have received the notification.
Yes, it is possible to file invention and utility model applications in parallel to obtain early protection in China. The applications must be filed by the same applicant, on the same day. They must relate to the same invention, and the fact that both applications were filed must be stated. Upon notification of grant of the patent, the utility model must be abandoned.
The annual fee for the year in which the patent is granted must be paid at registration. Subsequent annual fees are payable yearly in advance.
If you miss the deadline for payment of the annual fees, there is a six-month grace period. If you do not pay them (plus surcharge) within this period, the patent lapses.
In China you can request restoration of a patent within two months from the date of receipt of the notification of lapse. You must give reasons for your request and pay a restoration fee. Under certain conditions of force majeure, restoration may be requested up to two years from the date of expiry of the time limit for payment.
No. In China the 20-year term for invention patents cannot be extended. The Chinese Patent Law does not include any provisions on patent term extensions or supplementary protection certificates (SPCs).
Based on article 41 of the Patent Law, an applicant for patent has different ideas with the decision of said department, the applicant may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, request the Patent Reexamination Board to make a reexamination. The Patent Reexamination Board shall, after reexamination, make a decision and notify the applicant for patent.
When the applicant for patent is not satisfied with the decision of the Patent Reexamination Board, he or it may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, institute legal proceedings in the people's court.
The opposition system was abolished in China in 2001. The only way to a challenge a granted patent is through the invalidation procedure. Requests for invalidation can be filed at any time, even after the patent has expired.
You can find official information about patent fees in Chinese on the website of the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO).
Fee payments for specific applications can be checked in SIPO’s online sources. Its Chinese-language website allows users to check fee payments for patents and utility models from 2005 onwards. Those who want to check fee payments in English can now also use the “China and Global Patent Examination Inquiry” database.
According to the patent ordinances in Hong Kong, applicants can submit their applications for standard patent or short-tem patent in Hong Kong, and according to the Hong Kong Ordinance on Registered Design, applicants can apply for design patent in Hong Kong either.
Duration: standard patent is 20 years at most, but that has to be renewed every year; short-term patent is 8 years at most, and renewed every four years. Duration of design patent is 5 years, but applicants can ask for 4 terms of renewing with one term of 5 years.
Those applying design patent or temporary patents can apply directly in Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department, but if applying standard patents, applicants have to submit applications to SIPO, or British Patent Department or Eurounion Patent Department first, and finish the first registration within six months in Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department after the above-mentioned patent administration declares it, and the patent will come into effect after the applicant finishes the second registration within the six months since the day of one of above-mentioned patent administration department grants the patent.
In addition, the patentee has to pay to Hong Kong Intellectual Protection Department annually to keep the validity.
You can find information about patents in Hong Kong on the website of the Intellectual Property Department of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China.
You can find information about patents in Macao on the Macao Special Administrative Region Economic Service website:
