LAWS AND REGULATIONS

Chapter I General rules 

Article 1 These Regulations are formulated in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China in order to protect patent rights for inventions related to national defense, ensure national defense secrets and facilitate the popularization and application of inventions, promote the development of science and technology for national defense, and meet the needs of the modernization of national defense.

Article 2 A national defense patent refers to an invention patent that involves the interests of national defense and has a potential role in national defense construction and needs to be kept secret. 

Article 3 The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence) establishes a Patent Office for national defence. Applications for national defense patents shall be accepted and examined by the National Defense Patent Office of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (hereinafter referred to as the National Defense Patent Office). Where, after examination by the Patent Office for National Defense, it is found to be in conformity with the provisions of these Regulations, the Patent Office of China shall grant the patent right for national defense. 

Article 4 No patent for a top-secret invention involving national defense interests may be applied for. 

An application for a national defense patent accepted by the National Defense Patent Office shall be administered in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets and the provisions of the relevant competent departments before it is declassified in the process of acceptance, examination, review, authorization, transfer, implementation and mediation of disputes and litigation. 

Article 5 The term of protection of national defense patent right shall be fifteen years, counted from the date of filing. 

Article 6 Within the term of protection of a national defense patent right, where it is no longer necessary to keep the secret due to changes in circumstances, the national defense Patent Office has the right to make a decision on timely declassification. 

The entity or individual that has been granted a national defense patent right (hereinafter referred to as the national defense patentee) may request the declassification of its national defense patent at any time as circumstances change. Where declassification is requested, a request for declassification shall be submitted to the National defense Patent Office for examination and decision; For units under ownership by the whole people, a copy of the original opinion of the organ determining the classification shall also be attached. 

The National Defense Patent Office shall publish the declassified decision in the Internal Notification of National Defense Patents published by the Office, notify the national defense patentee, and report to the Patent Office of China to convert the national defense patent into a general patent. 

Article 7 Where it is necessary to extend the confidentiality period after the termination of a national defense patent right, if it belongs to an entity owned by the whole people, the organ that originally determined the classification of the secret shall make a decision and notify the national Defense Patent Office; Where it belongs to a unit or individual under collective ownership, the decision shall be made by the national Defense Patent Office. The decision to extend the confidentiality period shall be published in the Internal Notification of National Defense Patents. 

Article 8 The right to apply for a national defense patent and the national defense patent right may be transferred to Chinese units and Chinese citizens in China.

Where the right to apply for a national defense patent or a national defense patent right is assigned to an entity owned by the whole people, approval must be obtained from the competent department at a higher level of that entity. For units or individuals under collective ownership, approval must be obtained from the national Defense Patent Office.

Where the right to apply for a national defense patent or the national defense patent right is transferred to a Chinese-foreign equity joint venture or a Chinese-foreign contractual joint venture, a request for the assignment must be submitted to the Patent Office for national Defense, which shall submit it to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense for approval. 

Article 9 It is prohibited to transfer the right to apply for a national defense patent or the national defense patent right to any entity or individual abroad. 

Article 10 Where any entity or individual applies for a patent in a foreign country for an invention completed in China that involves the interests of national defense or has a potential role in the construction of national defense and needs to be kept secret, it must first file an application for a patent for national defense with the Patent Office for national Defense, and then submit to the Patent Office for National defense a written application for a patent in a foreign country, which shall be submitted to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense for approval before proceeding. 

Chapter II Application, examination and authorization of national defense patents

Article 11 Where an application for a national defense patent is filed, a request, a description and its abstract, a claim and other documents shall be submitted to the national defense Patent Office. 

The applicant shall, in accordance with the requirements stipulated by the National Defense Patent Office, prepare the application documents in a uniform format, and deliver them to the national Defense Patent Office in person or through a confidential transportation system, and shall not be mailed by ordinary mail. 

The date on which the national defense Patent Office receives the national defense patent application document shall be the filing date. 

Article 12 Where the Patent Office for National Defense regularly sends personnel to the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China to check an application for a general patent and finds that it involves the interests of national defense or has a potential role in the construction of national defense and needs to be kept secret, it shall, after obtaining the consent of the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China, withdraw the application for a patent for national defense and notify the applicant.

Article 13 An invention for which a national defense patent right is granted shall possess novelty, inventiveness and practicality. 

Novelty means that, before the date of filing, the same invention has not been publicly published in a foreign publication, published in a domestic publication, used in the country, or otherwise known to the public, nor has the same invention been applied to the national defense Patent Office by another person and obtained a national defense patent right after the date of filing.

Creativity means that the invention has outstanding substantive features and significant progress compared with the technology existing before the date of filing. 

Practicality means that the invention can be manufactured or used and can produce a positive effect.

Article 14 An invention for which a national defense patent is applied shall not lose its novelty if, within six months before the date of filing, any of the following occurs:

(1) exhibited for the first time at internal exhibitions organized by Ministries and commissions of the State Council or departments of the Chinese People's Liberation Army;

(2) published for the first time at internal academic or technical conferences held by ministries and commissions under The State Council or departments of the Chinese People's Liberation Army; 

(3) others disclose its contents without the consent of the applicant.

Where there are any of the above circumstances, the applicant shall declare it at the time of application and provide relevant supporting documents within two months from the date of application. 

Article 15 Where, after examining an application for a national defense patent, the national defense Patent Office finds that it is not in conformity with the provisions of these Regulations, it shall notify the applicant to state its opinions or amend or supplement the application documents within a specified time limit. The applicant may, within six months from the date of filing or when responding to the notice of examination opinions, amend the specification or claim of its application for a national defense patent on its own initiative.

Article 16 Where, after the applicant has stated his opinions or amended or corrected the application documents, the National Defense Patent Office considers that the provisions of these Regulations are still not met, it shall be rejected. 

Article 17 The National Defense Patent Office shall establish a National defense Patent Reexamination Board, which shall be composed of experienced technical and legal experts, and its chairman shall be concurrently served by the Director of the National Defense Patent Office.

Article 18 Where an applicant for a national defense patent is not satisfied with the decision of the national Defense Patent Office rejecting the application, it may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, request the National Defense Patent Reexamination Board for reexamination. The National Defense Patent Reexamination Board shall notify the applicant after it has made a decision.

Where the applicant is not satisfied with the decision of the National Defense Patent Reexamination Board rejecting the request for reexamination, he may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, bring a suit before the people's court. 

Article 19 Where, after examination, it is found that there is no reason for rejection of an application for a patent for national defense, or it is found after reexamination that the application for a patent for national defense should not be rejected, the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China shall make a decision to grant the patent right for national defense, and authorize the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China to issue a patent certificate for national defense. The national defense Patent Office shall register the relevant matters of the national defense patent and publish them in the Internal Bulletin of National Defense Patent.

Article 20 Where, after the grant of a patent right for national defense, any entity or individual considers that the grant of the patent right for national defense is not in conformity with the provisions of these Regulations, it may file a request with the National Defense Patent Reexamination Board for the invalidation or partial invalidation of the patent right. 

Where a request for invalidation of a national defense patent right requires reference to the specification, a request shall be submitted, accompanied by a certificate from the competent authority, and the application shall be reviewed after approval by the national defense Patent Office. 

Article 21. After examining the request for invalidation or partial invalidation of the patent right for national defense and making a decision, the National Defense Patent Reexamination Board shall notify the applicant and the national defense patentee. Where a national defense patent right is declared invalid or partially invalid, the national Defense Patent Office shall register it and publish it in the Internal Bulletin of National Defense Patent, and the Chinese Patent Office shall publish it in the Patent Gazette. 

Where any party is dissatisfied with the decision of the National Defense Patent Reexamination Board declaring the patent right for national defense invalid or partially invalid or maintaining the patent right for national defense, it may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, institute legal proceedings in the people's court.

Chapter III Implementation of National defense patents

Article 22 After a patent for national defense is granted, the Patent Office for national Defense shall promptly send copies of the relevant documents of the patent for national defense to the relevant ministries and commissions under The State Council or the relevant departments of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Where a copy of the document is received, it shall, within four months, submit a written opinion on the implementation of the national defense patent and notify the national defense Patent Office.

Article 23 The relevant ministries and commissions under The State Council and the relevant departments of the Chinese People's Liberation Army shall have the power to designate their units to exploit national defense patents within their respective systems; Where a national defense patent other than this system is designated for exploitation, a request shall be submitted to the National Defense Patent Office for approval by the National Defense Patent Office to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense for implementation. 

The National Defense Patent Office shall register the designation and implementation of national defense patents and publish them in the Internal Bulletin of National Defense Patents. 

Article 24 The entity exploiting a national defense patent must conclude a written contract for exploitation with the national defense patentee, pay a fee to the national defense patentee in accordance with the provisions of Article 28 of these Regulations, and report it to the national defense Patent Office for the record. The implementing entity has no right to allow any entity other than the one provided for in the contract to exploit the national defense patent. 

Article 25 Where a national defense patentee undertakes any task of scientific research, production or testing for national defense, he may, upon approval by the competent department at a higher level, exploit his national defense patent.

No one who has not undertaken the tasks of scientific research, production or testing for national defense may exploit its national defense patent.

The national defense patentee may recommend his national defense patent to the units undertaking the tasks of national defense scientific research, production and testing. A unit undertaking tasks of scientific research, production or testing for national defence may request the competent department at a higher level to exploit another person's national defence patent, and the competent department at a higher level shall submit the request to the competent department under The State Council or the competent department of the Chinese People's Liberation Army for decision. 

Article 26 Where the national defense patentee permits a foreign entity or individual to exploit its national defense patent, it must submit a request in advance to the Patent Office for national Defense, which shall submit it to the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense for approval before proceeding. 

Article 27 Where it is necessary to consult the specification for the exploitation of a national defense patent, a request shall be submitted, which shall be consulted after approval by the national defense Patent Office. 

Article 28 Where the exploitation of another person's national defense patent belongs to an invention completed with the national defense scientific research and trial production fee allocated by the State, the necessary national defense patent exploitation fee shall be paid to the national defense patentee. For an invention made with other funds, the national defense patent royalties shall be paid to the national defense patentee. 

The expenses for the exploitation of national defense patents mentioned in the preceding paragraph refer to the expenses incurred in the exploitation of national defense patents for the provision of technical materials, training of personnel and further development of technology. 

Article 29 The amount of exploitation fee or usage fee payable to the national defense patentee for exploitation of another person's national defense patent shall be agreed upon by the two parties. If the two parties cannot reach an agreement, the defense Patent Office shall make a ruling. If a party is not satisfied with the ruling, it may bring a suit in a people's court within three months from the date of receipt of the notification. 

Article 30 The national defense Patent Office shall establish a defense patent compensation fee. The Defense Patent Office shall pay compensation to the defense patentee at the time of the issuance of the defense patent certificate and after the first exercise of the patent. Where it is a service invention, the national defense patentee shall pay no less than 20% of the compensation to the inventor. The amount of the compensation fee shall be determined by the national defense Patent Office.

Chapter IV Administration and protection of national defense patents

Article 31 The Internal Notification of National Defense Patents published by the National Defense Patent Office shall be administered as confidential documents, and the scope of issuance shall be determined by the national Defense Patent Office. 

The Internal Notification of National Defense Patents contains the following contents: 

(1) the descriptive matters recorded in the request for a national defense patent application; 

(2) a claim for a national defense patent; 

(3) a summary of the description of the invention; 

(4) Grant of national defense patent right; 

(5) termination of the patent right for national defense; 

(6) invalidation of national defense patent right; 

(7) assignment of national defense patent right; 

(8) designation and implementation of national defense patents; 

(9) declassification of national defense patents; 

(10) extension of the confidentiality period for national defense patents; 

(11) changes in the name or address of the national defense patentee; 

(12) other relevant matters.

Article 32 The relevant ministries and commissions under The State Council, the relevant departments of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the administrative departments of science, technology and industry for national defense of all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall designate an organ for the administration of national defense patents and notify the patent offices for national defense. The national defense patent administration organ shall be guided in its business by the national defense Patent Office.

The duties of the national defense patent administration are: 

(1) to study the copies of the relevant documents of the national defense patent sent to the department by the national defense Patent Office, to put forward opinions on the implementation of the issue, or to send the relevant institutions to study and put forward opinions, and to notify the national defense Patent Office after the decision of the leadership of the department; 

(2) to formulate plans and plans for the national defense patent work of its own department or region, organize the national defense patent work of its own department or region directly under the central government and give operational guidance; 

(3) to mediate national defense patent disputes within the system or within the region; 

(4) to handle other services for national defense patents. 

Article 33 Inter-departmental and inter-regional disputes concerning national defense patents shall be handled by the national defense Patent Office.

Article 34 With respect to infringing acts in violation of the provisions of Article 24 of these Regulations, the parties may request the national defense patent administration authority or the national defense Patent Office to deal with them, or they may directly bring a suit before the people's court. When handling the case, the national defense patent administration authority and the national defense Patent Office shall have the power to order the infringer to stop the infringing act and compensate for the losses. If the party is not satisfied, it may bring a suit in a people's court within three months from the date of receipt of the notification. If the party neither brings a suit nor performs within the time limit, the national defense patent administration authority or the national defense Patent Office may request the people's court for compulsory execution. 

Article 35 Where any person exploits another person's national defense patent without the approval of the relevant Ministries and commissions of the State Council or the relevant departments of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the responsible person shall be subject to administrative sanctions by the competent authorities at a higher level. 

Article 36 Those who violate the provisions of these Regulations and cause the disclosure of national defense secrets shall be dealt with in accordance with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Guarding State Secrets and the Regulations of the Chinese People's Liberation Army on Secrecy.

Chapter V Supplementary provisions

Article 37 The applicant who applies for a national defense patent to the national defense Patent Office and goes through other formalities shall pay fees. Items of expenses and standards shall be prescribed by the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. 

Article 38 The relevant provisions of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China and the Implementation Rules of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China are applicable to national defense patents, but the provisions of these Regulations shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of these Regulations. 

Article 39 The Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense shall be responsible for the interpretation of these Regulations. 

Article 40 These Regulations shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.