LAWS AND REGULATIONS

(Order No. 306 of The State Council of the People's Republic of China on June 15, 2001 promulgated the first amendment in accordance with the Decision of The State Council on Amending the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China on December 28, 2002 and the second amendment in accordance with the Decision of The State Council on Amending the Implementing Rules of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China on January 9, 2010 Order)

Chapter I General provisions

Article 1 These Rules are formulated in accordance with the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Patent Law).

Article 2 The procedures provided for in the Patent Law and these Rules shall be handled in writing or in other forms prescribed by the patent administration department under The State Council.

Article 3 All documents submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules shall be in Chinese; Where there are uniformly prescribed scientific and technological terms by the State, standard words shall be used; Where there is no unified Chinese translation of the names of foreigners, place names and scientific and technological terms, the original shall be indicated.

Where any certificate or certification submitted in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules is in a foreign language, the patent administration department under The State Council may, when it deems it necessary, require the party concerned to attach a Chinese translation within a specified time limit; If it has not been attached at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that the certificate and supporting documents have not been submitted.

Article 4 For all documents mailed to the patent administration Department under The State Council, the date of postmarking shall be the date of submission; Where the date of the postmark is not clear, the date of receipt by the administrative department for patent under The State Council shall be the date of filing, unless the party concerned is able to provide proof.

The documents of the patent administration department under The State Council may be served on the parties by post, direct delivery or by any other means. Where a party entrusts a patent agency, the documents shall be sent to the patent agency; If no patent agency is appointed, the document shall be sent to the contact person specified in the request.

Any document mailed by the patent administration department under The State Council shall be presumed to be received by the party concerned after the expiration of 15 days from the date of issuance of the document.

For documents that should be delivered directly according to the provisions of the patent administration department under The State Council, the date of delivery shall be the date of service.

If the address of the document is not clear and cannot be mailed, it may be served on the party by way of public announcement. The document shall be deemed to have been served one month after the date of the announcement.

Article 5 The first day of any time limit prescribed in the Patent Law and these Rules shall not be counted as such. Where a time limit is calculated in years or months, the corresponding day of the last month shall be the day on which the time limit expires; If there is no corresponding day in that month, the time limit shall expire on the last day of that month; If a time limit expires on a statutory holiday, the time limit shall expire on the first working day after the holiday.

Article 6 Where a party delays the time limit prescribed by the Patent Law or these Rules or the time limit designated by the patent administration Department under The State Council due to irresistible causes, resulting in the loss of his rights, he may, within two months from the date of removal of the obstacle, or at the latest within two years from the date of expiration of the time limit, request the patent administration Department under The State Council to recover his rights.

In addition to the circumstances provided for in the preceding paragraph, where a party delays the time limit prescribed by the Patent Law or these Rules or the time limit designated by the patent administration department under The State Council due to other legitimate reasons, resulting in the loss of his rights, he may, within two months from the date of receipt of the notification of the patent administration department under The State Council, request the patent Administration Department under The State Council to recover his rights.

Where a party requests the restoration of his rights in accordance with the provisions of the first or second paragraph of this Article, he shall submit a request for the restoration of his rights, state the reasons, attach relevant supporting documents if necessary, and go through the corresponding procedures that should be completed before the loss of his rights; A person who requests restoration of his or her rights in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article shall also pay a fee for the restoration of his or her rights.

Where a party requests the extension of the time limit designated by the patent administration department under The State Council, it shall, before the expiration of the time limit, explain its reasons to the patent administration Department under The State Council and complete the relevant formalities.

The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this article shall not apply to the time limit provided for in Articles 24, 29, 42 and 68 of the Patent Law.

Article 7 Where an application for a patent involves the interests of national defense and requires confidentiality, it shall be accepted and examined by the national defense Patent Office. Where a patent application accepted by the patent administration department under The State Council involves national defense interests and requires confidentiality, it shall be promptly transferred to the national defense Patent Office for examination. Where no reason for rejection is found after examination by the national defense patent institution, the patent administration department under The State Council shall make a decision to grant the patent right for national defense.

Where the patent administration department under The State Council considers that an application for a patent for invention or utility model accepted by it involves national security or major interests other than the interests of national defense and requires confidentiality, it shall promptly make a decision to treat the application in accordance with the confidentiality of the patent application and notify the applicant. The special procedures for examination and reexamination of an application for a secret patent and for invalidation of a secret patent right shall be prescribed by the patent administration department under The State Council.

Article 8 An invention or utility model "completed in China" as mentioned in Article 20 of the Patent Law means an invention or utility model whose substantial content of the technical scheme is completed within the territory of China.

Any entity or individual that applies to a foreign country for a patent for an invention or utility model completed in China shall request the patent administration department under The State Council to conduct confidential examination in one of the following ways:

(1) Where an application for a patent is filed directly with a foreign country or an international application for a patent is filed with a relevant foreign institution, a request shall be filed in advance with the patent administration department under The State Council and a detailed description of the technical plan thereof;

(2) Where, after filing an application for a patent with the patent administration department under The State Council, he intends to file an application for a patent in a foreign country or an international application for a patent with the relevant foreign institution, he shall file a request with the patent administration department under The State Council before filing the application for a patent in a foreign country or the international application with the relevant foreign institution.

Where an international patent application is submitted to the patent administration department under The State Council, it shall be deemed that a request for confidentiality examination has been made at the same time.

Article 9 Where the patent administration department under The State Council, after receiving a request submitted in accordance with the provisions of Article 8 of these Rules, finds after examination that the invention or utility model may involve national security or major interests and requires confidentiality, it shall promptly issue a notice of confidentiality examination to the applicant; Where the applicant has not received the notice of confidentiality examination within 4 months from the date of submission of the request, it may apply for a patent in a foreign country for the invention or utility model or submit an international application for patent to the relevant foreign institution.

Where the patent administration department under The State Council notifies the applicant of the confidentiality examination in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it shall make a decision on the need for confidentiality in a timely manner and notify the applicant. Where the applicant does not receive the decision requiring confidentiality within 6 months from the date of submission of the request, it may apply for a patent in a foreign country for the invention or utility model or submit an international application for patent to the relevant foreign institution.

Article 10 The invention-creation in violation of the law as mentioned in Article 5 of the Patent Law does not include the invention-creation whose implementation is prohibited only by law.

Article 11 With the exception of the circumstances provided for in Articles 28 and 42 of the Patent Law, the date of application referred to in the Patent Law, where there is a priority, means the priority date.

Unless otherwise provided for in these Detailed Rules, the date of filing refers to the date of filing provided for in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

Article 12 The term "service invention-creation" as mentioned in Article 6 of the Patent Law means:

(1) Inventions and creations made in the course of their own work;

(2) Inventions and creations made in the performance of tasks other than those assigned by the unit;

(3) Inventions made within one year after retirement or transfer from the original unit, or after termination of labor or personnel relations, related to their own work undertaken in the original unit or tasks assigned by the original unit.

The term "the unit" as mentioned in Article 6 of the Patent Law includes the temporary working unit; The term "material and technical conditions of an entity" as mentioned in Article 6 of the Patent Law refers to its capital, equipment, spare parts, raw materials or technical data not disclosed to the public.

Article 13 An inventor or designer as mentioned in the Patent Law means a person who has made a creative contribution to the substantive features of the invention-creation. In the process of completing an invention-creation, a person who is only responsible for organizing work, facilitating the use of material and technical conditions, or engaging in other auxiliary work is not an inventor or designer.

Article 14 Where, in addition to the assignment of the patent right in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the Patent Law, the patent right is transferred due to any other cause, the parties shall, by presentation of relevant supporting documents or legal documents, go through the formalities for the transfer of the patent right with the patent administration department under The State Council.

A patent licensing contract concluded between the patentee and another person shall be filed with the patent administration department under The State Council within three months from the effective date of the contract.

Where the patent right is pledged, the pledgor and the pledgee shall jointly register the pledge with the patent administration department under The State Council.

Chapter II Application for Patent

Article 15 Where an application for a patent is filed in writing, the application document in duplicate shall be submitted to the patent administration Department under The State Council.

Where an application for a patent is made in any other form prescribed by the patent administration department under The State Council, the prescribed requirements shall be met.

Where an applicant entrusts a patent agency to apply for a patent or to handle any other patent affairs with the patent administration department under The State Council, it shall simultaneously submit a power of attorney indicating the authority of entrustment.

Where there are more than two applicants and no patent agency is appointed, unless otherwise stated in the request, the first applicant specified in the request shall be the representative.

Article 16 A request for an application for a patent for invention, utility model or design shall state the following:

(1) the name of the invention, utility model or design;

(2) If the applicant is a Chinese entity or individual, his or her name, address, postal code, organizational code or resident ID card number; If the applicant is a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization, his or her name, nationality or country or region of registration;

(3) the name of the inventor or designer;

(4) If the applicant entrusts a patent agency, the name and code of the entrusted agency and the name, practice license number and contact telephone number of the patent agent designated by the agency;

(5) Where the right of priority is claimed, the filing date, application number and the name of the original accepting institution when the applicant first filed the patent application (hereinafter referred to as the earlier application);

(6) the signature or seal of the applicant or the patent agency;

(7) List of application documents;

(8) List of additional documents;

(9) Other relevant matters that need to be specified.

Article 17 The description of an application for a patent for invention or utility model shall indicate the name of the invention or utility model, which shall be consistent with the name in the request. The specification shall include the following:

(1) Technical field: indicating the technical field to which the technical solution requested for protection belongs;

(2) Background technology: indicating the background technology useful for the understanding, retrieval and examination of the invention or utility model; Where possible, and cite documents reflecting these background techniques;

(3) Contents of the invention: indicating the technical problems to be solved by the invention or utility model and the technical solutions adopted to solve the technical problems, and indicating the beneficial effects of the invention or utility model against the prior art;

(4) Description of drawings: If there are drawings attached to the manual, make a brief description of the drawings;

(5) The specific mode of implementation: specify in detail the preferred mode of realization of the invention or utility model considered by the applicant; If necessary, give examples; If there are attached drawings, refer to the attached drawings.

The applicant for a patent for invention or utility model shall write the description in the manner and order provided for in the preceding paragraph, and indicate the title before each part of the description, unless the nature of the invention or utility model can be written in another manner or order to save space in the description and enable others to accurately understand the invention or utility model.

The description of the invention or utility model shall be standardized and clear, and shall not use "if the rights require..." Stated..." Quotations of the same category shall not use commercial propaganda terms.

Where the application for a patent for invention contains one or more nucleotide or amino acid sequences, the specification shall include a sequence table conforming to the provisions of the patent administration department under The State Council. The applicant shall submit the sequence table as a separate part of the specification and a copy of the sequence table in computer-readable form in accordance with the provisions of the patent Administration Department under The State Council.

The description of the application for a utility model patent shall contain drawings indicating the shape, structure or combination of the product for which protection is sought.

Article 18 Several drawings attached to an invention or utility model shall be in accordance with "Figure 1, Figure 2,..." The sequence is numbered.

Drawings marks not mentioned in the text part of the specification of the invention or utility model may not appear in the drawings, and drawings marks not mentioned in the text part of the specification may not be mentioned. The drawing marks indicating the same component in the application documents shall be consistent.

The drawings should contain no other comments than the necessary words.

Article 19 A claim shall record the technical characteristics of the invention or utility model.

If the claims contain several claims, they shall be numbered in the order of Arabic numerals.

The technical terms used in the claims shall be consistent with the technical terms used in the specification, and may have chemical or mathematical formulas, but shall not have illustrations. Except where absolutely necessary, "as described in the instructions... As described in part "or" as shown in... The expression "as shown".

The technical features in the claims may refer to the corresponding marks in the drawings attached to the specification, which shall be placed after the corresponding technical features and placed in brackets to facilitate the understanding of the claims. The drawing marks shall not be construed as a limitation of the claims.

Article 20 A claim shall have independent claims and may also have subordinate claims.

Independent claims shall reflect the technical scheme of the invention or utility model as a whole and record the necessary technical features to solve the technical problem.

Subordinate claims shall be further qualified by additional technical features to the referenced claims.

Article 21 An independent claim for an invention or utility model shall include a preamble part and a characteristic part, and shall be prepared in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) The preamble part: indicating the subject name of the technical solution of the invention or utility model for which protection is sought and the necessary technical features shared by the subject matter of the invention or utility model with the nearest prior art;

(2) Features: Use "characterized by..." Or similar terms indicating the technical features of the invention or utility model that distinguish it from the nearest prior art. These features, together with the features stated in the preceding part, define the scope of protection claimed by the invention or utility model.

Where the nature of the invention or utility model is not suitable for expression in the preceding manner, the independent claim may be written in other ways.

An invention or utility model shall have only one independent claim, which precedes the subordinate claims of the same invention or utility model.

Article 22 A subordinate claim for an invention or utility model shall include a part of citation and a part of qualification, and shall be prepared in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) The quoting part: indicating the number of the quoted claim and the name of its subject;

(2) The limited part: indicating the additional technical features of the invention or utility model.

A subordinate claim may refer only to the preceding claim. A multiple dependent claim that refers to more than two claims may only refer to the preceding claim in an alternative manner and may not be used as the basis for another multiple dependent claim.

Article 23 The abstract of the specification shall state a summary of the contents disclosed in the application for a patent for invention or utility model, that is, the name of the invention or utility model and the technical field to which it belongs, and clearly reflect the technical problem to be solved, the main points of the technical solution to the problem and the main uses.

A summary of the specification may contain the chemical formula that best illustrates the invention; Where an application for a patent is accompanied by drawings, it shall also provide an accompanying drawing that best illustrates the technical features of the invention or utility model. The size and clarity of the attached drawing should ensure that the details in the drawing can be clearly distinguished when the drawing is reduced to 4 cm x 6 cm. The text of the abstract shall not exceed 300 words. Commercial promotional language may not be used in the abstract.

Article 24 Where the invention for which a patent is applied relates to a new biological material, the biological material is not available to the public, and the description of the biological material is not sufficient to enable technicians in the field to implement the invention, in addition to complying with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, the applicant shall also go through the following procedures:

(1) Before the filing date or at the latest on the filing date (if there is a priority, the priority date), submit the sample of the biological material to a depositary unit recognized by the patent administration department under The State Council for storage, and submit the certificate of preservation and proof of survival issued by the depositary unit at the time of filing or at the latest within four months from the filing date; If the certificate is not submitted at the expiration of the time limit, the sample shall be deemed to have not been submitted for storage;

(b) in the application documents, provide information about the characteristics of the biological material;

(3) A patent application involving the storage of biological material samples shall indicate in the request and description the classification and naming of the biological material (indicating the Latin name), the name, address, date of storage and storage number of the unit storing the biological material samples; If it is not stated in the application, it shall be corrected within 4 months from the date of application; If no correction is made at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed not to have been submitted for safekeeping.

Article 25 Where an applicant for a patent for invention reserves a sample of biological materials in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of these Rules, any entity or individual that, after the publication of the application for a patent for invention, needs to use the biological materials involved in the application for a patent for experimental purposes shall make a request to the patent administration department under The State Council, and shall indicate the following:

(1) the name and address of the person making the request;

(2) A guarantee not to provide the biomaterial to any other person;

(3) A guarantee that it will be used only for experimental purposes before the patent right is granted.

Article 26 The term "genetic resources" as used in the Patent Law means materials derived from human bodies, animals, plants or microorganisms that contain genetic functional units and have actual or potential value; The term "invention-creation accomplished by relying on genetic resources" as mentioned in the Patent Law refers to the invention-creation accomplished by using the genetic function of genetic resources.

Where an application for a patent is filed for an invention-creation that relies on genetic resources, the applicant shall give an explanation in the application and fill in the form drawn up by the patent administration department under The State Council.

Article 27 Where an applicant requests protection of color, it shall submit color pictures or photographs.

The applicant shall submit relevant pictures or photos of the contents that need to be protected for each design product.

Article 28 A brief description of a design shall indicate the name and purpose of the product of the design, the main points of the design, and designate a picture or photograph that can best indicate the main points of the design. Omit the view or request to protect the color, should be stated in the brief description.

Where an application for a design patent is filed for a number of similar designs of the same product, one of them shall be designated as the basic design in the brief description.

The brief description shall not use commercial advertising terms and shall not be used to describe the performance of the product.

Article 29 The patent administration department under The State Council may, when it deems it necessary, require the applicant for a patent for design to submit a sample or model of a product using the design. The volume of the sample or model shall not exceed 30 cm ×30 cm ×30 cm, and the weight shall not exceed 15 kg. Perishable, fragile or dangerous goods may not be submitted as samples or models.

Article 30 The international exhibition recognized by the Chinese government as mentioned in subparagraph (1) of Article 24 of the Patent Law refers to the international exhibition registered with or recognized by the International Exhibition Bureau as provided for in the Convention on International Exhibitions.

The academic or technical conference referred to in item (2) of Article 24 of the Patent Law means the academic or technical conference organized by the relevant competent department of The State Council or a national academic organization.

Where the invention-creation for which a patent is applied falls under the circumstances listed in item (1) or (2) of Article 24 of the Patent Law, the applicant shall declare at the time of filing the patent application that the invention-creation has been exhibited or published, and shall submit within two months from the date of filing that the invention-creation has been exhibited or published, as issued by the organization of the relevant international exhibition, academic conference or technical conference. And documents supporting the date of exhibition or publication.

Where an invention-creation for which a patent is applied falls under the circumstances listed in item (3) of Article 24 of the Patent Law, the patent administration department under The State Council may, when it deems it necessary, require the applicant to submit supporting documents within a specified time limit.

Where the applicant fails to make a declaration and submit supporting documents in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, or fails to submit supporting documents within the specified time limit in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 4 of this Article, the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to his application.

Article 31 Where an applicant claims a foreign right of priority in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law, the copy of the earlier application submitted by the applicant shall be certified by the original accepting authority. In accordance with the agreement signed between the patent administration department under The State Council and the accepting institution, where the patent administration department under The State Council obtains a copy of the earlier application document through electronic exchange or other means, the applicant shall be deemed to have submitted a copy of the earlier application document certified by the accepting institution. Where the applicant claims national priority and specifies the filing date and application number of the earlier application in the request, it shall be deemed to have submitted a copy of the earlier application document.

Where the right of priority is claimed, but one or two items of the filing date, the application number or the name of the original accepting institution are omitted or incorrectly included in the request, the patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within the specified time limit; If no rectification is made at the expiration of the time limit, the right of priority shall be deemed not to be claimed.

Where the name of the applicant claiming the right of priority is inconsistent with the name or name of the applicant recorded in the copy of the earlier application documents, the applicant shall submit the certification materials for the assignment of the right of priority. If the certification materials are not submitted, the applicant shall be deemed to have not claimed the right of priority.

Where the applicant for an application for a patent for design claims a foreign right of priority, where the earlier application does not include a brief description of the design, and the brief description submitted by the applicant in accordance with the provisions of Article 28 of these Rules does not exceed the scope indicated by the pictures or photographs of the earlier application documents, it shall not affect its right of priority.

Article 32 In an application for a patent, an applicant may claim one or more priorities; Where multiple priorities are claimed, the priority period of the application shall be calculated from the earliest priority date.

Where the applicant claims a national priority, and the earlier application is an application for a patent for invention, it may file an application for a patent for invention or utility model on the same subject matter; Where an earlier application is for a utility model patent, an application for a utility model or invention patent may be filed on the same subject matter. However, when the latter application is filed, it shall not be used as a basis for claiming national priority if the subject matter of the earlier application is one of the following:

(1) Foreign or domestic priority has already been claimed;

(2) where a patent right has been granted;

(3) It is a sub-case application filed in accordance with the provisions.

Where the applicant claims domestic priority, the earlier application shall be deemed withdrawn as of the date on which the later application was filed.

Article 33 Where an applicant has no habitual residence or business establishment in China applies for a patent or claims foreign priority, the patent administration department under The State Council may, when it deems it necessary, require it to provide the following documents:

(1) If the applicant is an individual, his or her nationality certificate;

(2) If the applicant is an enterprise or other organization, the certification documents of the country or region where it is registered;

(3) The country to which the applicant belongs recognizes that Chinese entities and individuals may enjoy patent rights, priority rights and other patent-related rights in that country under the same conditions as nationals of that country.

Article 34. In accordance with the provisions of Article 31, paragraph 1, of the Patent Law, two or more inventions or utility models that may be submitted as a single patent application and belong to a general invention idea shall be technically interrelated and contain one or more identical or corresponding specific technical features, where specific technical features refer to each invention or utility model as a whole. Technical characteristics that contribute to prior art.

Article 35 Where, in accordance with the provisions of Article 31, paragraph 2, of the Patent Law, multiple similar designs of the same product are filed as a single application, the other designs of the product shall be similar to the basic designs specified in the brief description. The number of similar designs in one design patent application shall not exceed 10.

The term "two or more designs of products of the same category and sold or used in sets" mentioned in paragraph 2 of Article 31 of the Patent Law means that the products belong to the same category in the classification table, are traditionally sold or used at the same time, and the designs of the products have the same design concept.

Where two or more designs are submitted as one application, the sequential number of each design shall be marked before the name of each picture or photograph of each design product.

Article 36. Where an applicant withdraws his application for a patent, he shall file a declaration with the patent administration Department under The State Council indicating the name of the invention-creation, the application number and the date of filing.

Where the declaration of withdrawal of the patent application is made after the patent administration department under The State Council has made the printing preparations for publication of the patent application documents, the application documents shall still be published; However, the declaration of withdrawal of the patent application shall be published in the patent Gazette published at a later date.

Chapter III Examination and approval of patent applications

Article 37 In the preliminary examination, substantive examination, review and invalidation procedures, the personnel conducting the examination and hearing shall withdraw themselves under any of the following circumstances, and the parties or other interested parties may request them to withdraw:

(1) he is a near relative of the party concerned or his agent;

(2) having an interest in the patent application or patent right;

(3) having other relations with a party or his agent, which may affect the impartial examination and hearing;

(4) where a member of the Patent Reexamination Board has participated in the examination of the original application.

Article 38 The patent administration department under The State Council, upon receipt of the request, description and claims for an application for a patent for invention or utility model (which must include drawings attached), or the request for an application for a patent for design, drawings or photographs of the design and a brief description thereof, shall specify the date of filing, grant the application number and notify the applicant.

Article 39 Where a patent application document contains any of the following circumstances, the patent administration department under The State Council shall not accept it and shall notify the applicant:

(1) Where the application for a patent for invention or utility model lacks a request, description (without drawings attached to a utility model) or a claim, or where the application for a patent for design lacks a request, pictures or photographs, or a brief description;

(2) where the Chinese language is not used;

(3) does not comply with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 121 of these Rules;

(4) The letter of request lacks the name or name of the applicant, or lacks an address;

(5) manifestly inconsistent with the provisions of Article 18 or paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Patent Law;

(6) Where the category of the patent application (invention, utility model or design) is unclear or difficult to determine.

Article 40 Where a description of the appended drawings is written in the specification but there is no or part of the appended drawings, the applicant shall, within the time limit designated by the patent administration department under The State Council, make a supplementary submission of the appended drawings or make a declaration to cancel the description of the appended drawings. Where the applicant submits supplementary drawings, the date on which the appended drawings are submitted or mailed to the administrative department for patent under The State Council shall be the date of application; If the description of the attached drawing is cancelled, the original application date shall be retained.

Article 41 Two or more applicants on the same day (the date of application; Where there is a right of priority, "priority date"), the applicant shall, after receiving a notice from the patent administration department under The State Council, determine the applicant through consultation.

Where the same applicant applies for both a utility model patent and an invention patent for the same invention-creation on the same day (referring to the date of filing), it shall indicate separately in the application that another patent has been applied for the same invention-creation; Where no explanation is given, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 1, of the Patent Law that only one patent right can be granted for the same invention-creation.

Where the patent administration department under The State Council announces the grant of the patent right for utility model, it shall announce the explanation that the applicant has simultaneously applied for the patent for invention in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article.

Where it is found after examination that there is no reason for rejection of the application for a patent for invention, the patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant to renounce the patent right for utility model within the prescribed time limit. Where the applicant makes a renunciation, the patent administration department under The State Council shall make a decision to grant the patent right for invention and, when announcing the grant of the patent right for invention, announce the applicant's declaration of renunciation of the patent right for utility model. Where the applicant does not agree to the waiver, the patent administration department under The State Council shall reject the application for a patent for invention. Where the applicant fails to reply at the expiration of the time limit, the application for patent for invention shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

The patent right for utility model shall terminate on the date of the announcement granting the patent right for invention.

Article 42 Where an application for a patent includes two or more inventions, utility models or designs, the applicant may, before the expiration of the time limit provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 54 of these Rules, file a divisived application with the patent administration department under The State Council. However, where the patent application has been rejected, withdrawn or deemed to have been withdrawn, no division application may be filed.

Where the patent administration Department under The State Council considers that an application for a patent is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 31 of the Patent Law or Article 34 or 35 of these Rules, it shall notify the applicant to amend the application within a specified time limit. If the applicant fails to reply within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

A subdivision application shall not change the class of the original application.

Article 43 In the case of a division application filed in accordance with the provisions of Article 42 of these Rules, the original filing date may be retained; if the priority is enjoyed, the priority date may be retained, but it shall not exceed the scope recorded in the original application.

A division application shall go through the relevant procedures in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules.

The application number and application date of the original application shall be clearly stated in the request for a division application. When submitting a division application, the applicant shall submit a copy of the original application documents; Where the original application enjoys the right of priority, a copy of the priority documents of the original application shall be submitted.

Article 44 The term "preliminary examination" as mentioned in Articles 34 and 40 of the Patent Law means examining whether an application for a patent contains the documents provided for in Articles 26 or 27 of the Patent Law and other necessary documents, and whether these documents conform to the prescribed format, and examining the following:

(1) Whether the application for a patent for invention clearly falls under the circumstances provided for in Articles 5 and 25 of the Patent Law, or whether it does not comply with the provisions of Articles 18, 19, paragraph 1, 20, paragraph 1 of the Patent Law, or 16, 26, paragraph 2 of these Rules, Whether it clearly does not comply with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 2, Article 26, paragraph 5, Article 31, paragraph 1, or Article 33 of the Patent Law, or Articles 17 to 21 of these Rules;

(2) whether the application for a utility model patent clearly falls under the circumstances provided for in Articles 5 and 25 of the Patent Law, whether it does not comply with Articles 18, paragraph 1 of Article 19, paragraph 1 of Article 20 of the Patent Law, or the provisions of Articles 16 to 19 and 21 to 23 of these Rules, Whether it is manifestly inconsistent with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 2, paragraph 2, paragraph 4 of Article 22, paragraph 3, paragraph 4 of Article 26, paragraph 1, paragraph 33 of Article 31 or paragraph 1 of Article 20 or paragraph 43 of these Rules, or whether it is not possible to obtain a patent right in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Patent Law;

(3) Whether the application for a patent for design clearly falls under the circumstances provided for in Article 5, Article 25, paragraph 1 (6) of the Patent Law, whether it does not comply with the provisions of Article 18, Article 19, paragraph 1 of the Patent Law or Article 16, Article 27 and Article 28 of these Rules, Whether it is manifestly inconsistent with the provisions of paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the Patent Law, paragraph 1 of Article 23, paragraph 2 of Article 27, paragraph 2 of Article 31, or Article 33 of the first paragraph of Article 43 of these Rules, or whether the patent right cannot be obtained in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Patent Law;

(4) Whether the application documents comply with the provisions of Article 2 and paragraph 1 of Article 3 of these Rules.

The patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant of its examination opinions and require it to state its opinions or make corrections within a specified time limit. If the applicant fails to reply within the time limit, his application shall be deemed withdrawn. Where, after the applicant has stated his opinions or made corrections, the patent administration department under The State Council still considers that the provisions listed in the preceding paragraph are not met, it shall be rejected.

Article 45 Where, in addition to the patent application documents, the other documents relating to the patent application submitted by the applicant to the patent administration Department under The State Council fall under any of the following circumstances, they shall be deemed not to have been submitted:

(1) failing to use the prescribed form or filling in a form that does not conform to the provisions;

(2) failing to submit certification materials as required.

The patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant of the examination opinions deemed to be unsubmitted.

Article 46 Where an applicant requests early publication of his application for a patent for invention, he shall make a declaration to the patent administration department under The State Council. After preliminary examination of the application, the patent administration department under The State Council shall, unless it is rejected, immediately publish the application.

Article 47 Where the applicant specifies the product in which the design is used and the category to which it belongs, the classification list of the design products published by the patent administration department under The State Council shall be used. Where the category of the product to which the design is used is not specified or the category written is inaccurate, the patent administration department under The State Council may supplement or amend it.

Article 48. From the date of publication of the application for a patent for invention to the date of the announcement of the grant of the patent right, any person may submit his opinions and reasons to the patent administration Department under The State Council concerning an application for a patent that does not conform to the provisions of the Patent Law.

Article 49 Where an applicant for a patent for invention is unable to submit the information on search or the information on the results of examination provided for in Article 36 of the Patent Law for legitimate reasons, he shall make a declaration to the patent administration department under The State Council and make a supplementary submission after obtaining the relevant information.

Article 50. When the patent administration department under The State Council conducts its own examination of an application for a patent in accordance with the provisions of Article 35, paragraph 2, of the Patent Law, it shall notify the applicant.

Article 51 An applicant for a patent for invention may, at the time of filing the request for substantive examination and within 3 months from the date of receipt of the notice from the patent administration department under The State Council that the application for a patent for invention has entered the stage of substantive examination, voluntarily propose amendments to the application for a patent for invention.

The applicant for a patent for utility model or design may, within 2 months from the date of filing, voluntarily propose to amend the application for a patent for utility model or design.

Where an applicant amends the patent application document after receiving the notice of examination opinions issued by the patent administration Department under The State Council, it shall make amendments in view of the defects pointed out in the notice.

The patent administration department under The State Council may, on its own, amend any obvious errors in characters or symbols in the patent application documents. Where the patent administration department under The State Council makes any amendment on its own initiative, it shall notify the applicant.

Article 52 The modified part of the description or claim of an application for a patent for invention or utility model, except for the modification or addition or deletion of individual words, shall be submitted with replacement pages in accordance with the prescribed format. Any modification of a picture or photograph of an application for a patent for design shall be submitted to a replacement page in accordance with the provisions.

Article 53 In accordance with Article 38 of the Patent Law, the circumstances under which an application for a patent for invention shall be rejected upon examination of substance refer to:

(1) The application falls under the circumstances provided for in Articles 5 or 25 of the Patent Law, or the patent right cannot be obtained in accordance with Article 9 of the Patent Law;

(2) The application does not comply with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 2, paragraph 1 of Article 20, paragraph 22, paragraph 3, paragraph 4, paragraph 5 of Article 26, paragraph 1 of Article 31, or paragraph 2 of Article 20 of these Rules;

(3) The amendment of the application does not comply with Article 33 of the Patent Law, or the division of the application does not comply with the provisions of Article 43, paragraph 1 of these Rules.

Article 54. After the patent Administration Department under The State Council has issued a notice granting the patent right, the applicant shall complete the registration formalities within two months from the date of receipt of the notice. Where the applicant completes the registration formalities on time, the patent administration department under The State Council shall grant the patent right, issue the patent certificate, and announce it.

Where the registration formalities have not been completed at the expiration of the time limit, the right to obtain the patent right shall be deemed to have been abandoned.

Article 55 Where it is found after examination that there is no reason for rejection of an application for a secret patent, the patent administration department under The State Council shall make a decision to grant a secret patent right, issue a secret patent certificate, and register the relevant matters concerning the secret patent right.

Article 56. After the decision to grant the patent right for utility model or design has been announced, the patentee or interested party provided for in Article 60 of the Patent Law may request the patent administration department under The State Council to make a patent right evaluation report.

Where a patent right evaluation report is requested, a request for the patent right evaluation report shall be submitted, indicating the patent number. Each claim shall be limited to one patent right.

Where the request for a patent right evaluation report does not comply with the provisions, the patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within a specified time limit. If the claimant fails to make the correction within the time limit, the request shall be deemed to have not been made.

Article 57 The patent administration department under The State Council shall make a patent right evaluation report within two months after receiving the request for the patent right evaluation report. Where multiple claimants request a patent right evaluation report for the same patent right for utility model or design, the patent administration department under The State Council shall make only one patent right evaluation report. Any entity or individual may consult or copy the patent right evaluation report.

Article 58 The patent administration department under The State Council shall, upon discovery of any errors in the patent announcement or patent document, promptly correct them and publish the corrections made.

Chapter IV Review of patent applications and invalidation of patent rights

Article 59 The Patent Reexamination Board shall be composed of technical and legal experts designated by the patent administration department under The State Council. The head of the board shall concurrently be the person in charge of the patent administration department under The State Council.

Article 60 Where a request for reexamination is made to the Patent Reexamination Board in accordance with the provisions of Article 41 of the Patent Law, a request for reexamination shall be submitted, stating the reasons and, if necessary, supporting relevant evidence.

Where the request for reexamination is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 19, paragraph 1, or Article 41, paragraph 1, of the Patent Law, the Patent Reexamination Board shall not accept it, and shall notify the applicant for reexamination in writing and state the reasons.

Where the written request for reexamination does not conform to the prescribed form, the person making the request for reexamination shall make corrections within the time limit designated by the Patent Reexamination Board. If no correction is made at the expiration of the time limit, the request for review shall be deemed not to have been made.

Article 61 The applicant may, when filing a request for reexamination or responding to the notice of reexamination issued by the Patent Reexamination Board, amend the patent application documents. However, the amendment shall be limited to eliminating the defects indicated in the rejection decision or the notice of review.

The amended patent application document shall be submitted in duplicate.

Article 62 The Patent Reexamination Board shall transmit the application for reexamination it has received to the original examination department of the patent administration department under The State Council for examination. Where, at the request of the applicant for reexamination, the original examination department agrees to revoke the original decision, the Patent Reexamination Board shall make a reexamination decision accordingly and notify the applicant for reexamination.

Article 63 Where the Patent Reexamination Board, after making a reexamination, finds that the request for reexamination is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall notify the applicant for reexamination and require him to state his opinions within a specified time limit. If no reply is made at the expiration of the time limit, the request for review shall be deemed to have been withdrawn; Where the Patent Reexamination Board considers that the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules are still not in conformity with the stated opinions or amendments, it shall make a reexamination decision to maintain the original rejection decision.

Where, after re-examination, the Patent Reexamination Board considers that the original rejection decision is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, or considers that the amended patent application documents have eliminated the defects pointed out in the original rejection decision, it shall revoke the original rejection decision and the original examination department shall continue the examination procedure.

Article 64 The person making the request for reexamination may withdraw his request for reexamination before the Patent Reexamination Board makes a decision.

Where the applicant for reexamination withdraws his request for reexamination before the Patent Reexamination Board makes a decision, the reexamination procedure shall be terminated.

Article 65 Where, in accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of the Patent Law, a request for invalidation or partial invalidation of the patent right is made, a request for invalidation of the patent right and the necessary evidence shall be submitted to the Patent Reexamination Board in duplicate. The request for invalidation shall, in combination with all the evidence submitted, specify the reasons for the request for invalidation and indicate the evidence on which each reason is based.

The reasons for the request for invalidation mentioned in the preceding paragraph mean that the invention-creation granted for a patent does not comply with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 1 of Article 20, Article 22, Article 23, paragraph 3, paragraph 4 of Article 26, paragraph 2 of Article 27, or paragraph 1 of Article 43 of these Rules. Or it falls under the provisions of Article 5 or 25 of the Patent Law, or it cannot be patented in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Patent Law.

Article 66 Where a request for invalidation of a patent right is not in conformity with paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Patent Law or Article 65 of these Rules, the Patent Reexamination Board shall not accept it.

Where, after the Patent Reexamination Board has made a decision on the request for invalidation, it makes another request for invalidation on the same grounds and with the same evidence, the Patent Reexamination Board shall not accept the request.

Where a request for invalidation of the patent right for a design is made on the ground that it is not in conformity with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 23 of the Patent Law, but no evidence proving the conflict of rights has been submitted, the Patent Reexamination Board shall not accept it.

Where the request for invalidation of the patent right does not conform to the prescribed format, the person requesting invalidation shall make corrections within the time limit specified by the Patent Reexamination Board. If no correction is made at the expiration of the time limit, the request for invalidation shall be deemed not to have been made.

Article 67 After the Patent Reexamination Board has accepted the request for invalidation, the person making the request may, within one month from the date of filing the request for invalidation, add additional reasons or supplementary evidence. Where reasons or supplementary evidence are added within the time limit, the Patent Reexamination Board may not consider them.

Article 68 The Patent Reexamination Board shall send copies of the request for invalidation of the patent right and the relevant documents to the patentee and request him to state his opinions within the specified time limit.

The patentee and the person requesting invalidation shall, within the specified time limit, reply to the notice of transfer of documents or the notice of examination of the request for invalidation issued by the Patent Reexamination Board; Where no reply has been made within the time limit, the examination by the Patent Reexamination Board shall not be affected.

Article 69 During the examination of the request for invalidation, the patentee of a patent for invention or utility model may amend his claims, provided that the scope of protection of the original patent may not be extended.

The patentee of a patent for invention or utility model may not modify the patent description and drawings, and the patentee of a design patent may not modify pictures, photographs or brief descriptions.

Article 70 The Patent Reexamination Board may, at the request of the parties or as the case requires, decide to conduct an oral hearing of the request for invalidation.

Where the Patent Reexamination Board decides to conduct an oral hearing of the request for invalidation, it shall issue a notice of oral hearing to the parties, informing them of the date and place of the oral hearing. The parties shall reply within the time limit specified in the notice.

Where the person making the request for invalidation fails to respond to the notice of oral hearing issued by the Patent Reexamination Board within the prescribed time limit and does not participate in the oral hearing, his request for invalidation shall be deemed to have been withdrawn; If the patentee does not participate in the oral hearing, he may hear the case in absentia.

Article 71 In the procedure for examining a request for invalidation, the time limit designated by the Patent Reexamination Board may not be extended.

Article 72 Before the Patent Reexamination Board makes a decision on the request for invalidation, the person making the request for invalidation may withdraw his request.

Where, before the Patent Reexamination Board makes a decision, the applicant for invalidation withdraws his request or his request for invalidation is deemed to have been withdrawn, the examination procedure for the request for invalidation shall terminate. However, where the Patent Reexamination Board considers that a decision to declare the patent right invalid or partially invalid can be made on the basis of the examination conducted, the examination procedure shall not be terminated.

Chapter V Compulsory license for Exploitation of patent

Article 73 The term "insufficient exploitation of the patent" as mentioned in item (1) of Article 48 of the Patent Law means that the patentee and its licensee cannot exploit the patent in a manner or on a scale that meets the domestic demand for the patented product or the patented process.

The term "patented drug" as mentioned in Article 50 of the Patent Law refers to any patented product in the field of medicine needed to solve public health problems or any product directly obtained by means of a patented method, including the patented active ingredient required for the manufacture of the product and the diagnostic supplies required for the use of the product.

Article 74 Where a compulsory license is requested, a request for a compulsory license shall be submitted to the patent administration Department under The State Council, stating the reasons and accompanied by relevant supporting documents.

The patent administration department under The State Council shall send a copy of the request for compulsory license to the patentee. The patentee shall state his or her opinions within the time limit specified by the patent administration Department under The State Council. Where no reply has been made within the time limit, the decision of the patent administration department under The State Council shall not be affected.

Before making a decision to reject the request for a compulsory license or to grant a compulsory license, the patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant and the patentee of the decision to be made and the reasons for it.

The decision of the patent administration department under The State Council to grant a compulsory license in accordance with the provisions of Article 50 of the Patent Law shall also comply with the provisions of the relevant international treaties concluded or acceded to by China on granting a compulsory license for the purpose of solving public health problems, except where China has made reservations.

Article 75 Where, in accordance with the provisions of Article 57 of the Patent Law, the patent administration department under The State Council is requested to make a ruling on the amount of the royalty, the parties shall submit a written request for the ruling, accompanied by supporting documents showing that the two parties cannot reach an agreement. The patent administration department under The State Council shall, within three months from the date of receipt of the request, make a ruling and notify the party concerned.

Chapter VI Awards and remuneration to the inventor or designer of a service invention-creation

Article 76 The entity that is granted a patent right may agree with the inventor or designer or prescribe in the rules and regulations formulated by it according to law the form and amount of rewards and remuneration provided for in Article 16 of the Patent Law.

The rewards and remuneration given to the inventor or designer by the enterprise or institution shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State on financial and accounting systems.

Article 77 Where the entity that has been granted a patent right has not agreed with the inventor or creator nor provided for the form and amount of the award provided for in Article 16 of the Patent Law in its rules and regulations formulated according to law, it shall pay the inventor or creator a bonus within three months from the date of the announcement of the patent right. The minimum bonus for an invention patent is not less than 3,000 yuan; The bonus for a utility model patent or design patent shall not be less than 1000 yuan.

Where an invention-creation is completed as a result of the proposal of the inventor or designer being adopted by the entity to which the inventor or designer belongs, the entity to which the patent right has been granted shall pay a bonus with the preference.

Article 78 Where the entity granted a patent right fails to agree with the inventor or creator nor to specify in its rules and regulations formulated according to law the form and amount of remuneration provided for in Article 16 of the Patent Law, during the term of the patent right and after the exploitation of the patent for invention-creation, No less than 2% of the operating profits from exploiting the patent for invention or utility model or 0.2% of the operating profits from exploiting the patent for design shall be taken out each year to the inventor or designer as remuneration, or a one-time remuneration shall be given to the inventor or designer with reference to the above proportion. Where the entity that has been granted a patent right permits another entity or individual to exploit its patent, it shall, as remuneration, pay not less than 10% of the royalties collected to the inventor or designer.

Chapter VII Protection of Patent Right

Article 79 The department for the administration of patent affairs as mentioned in the Patent Law and these Rules means the department for the administration of patent affairs established by the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government and by the people's governments of cities divided into districts that have a large amount of patent administration work and have actual processing capacity.

Article 80 The patent administration department under The State Council shall provide operational guidance to the administrative departments for patent affairs in handling patent infringement disputes, investigating and dealing with acts of counterfeiting patents and mediating patent disputes.

Article 81 Where a party requests the settlement of a patent infringement dispute or mediation of a patent dispute, it shall be under the jurisdiction of the administrative department for patent affairs in the place where the person requested is located or where the infringement is committed.

Where two or more administrative departments for patent affairs have jurisdiction over a patent dispute, the parties may file a request with one of the administrative departments for patent affairs; Where a party makes a request to two or more competent departments for the administration of patent affairs, the request shall be under the jurisdiction of the department for the administration of patent affairs that first accepts the request.

Where there is a dispute over jurisdiction between the administrative departments for patent affairs, the administrative departments for patent affairs of the people's government at a higher level shall designate them for jurisdiction. Where there is no administrative department for patent affairs under a common people's government at a higher level, the patent administration department under The State Council shall designate such department for jurisdiction.

Article 82 In the course of handling a patent infringement dispute, where the person requested makes a request for invalidation and the request is accepted by the Patent Reexamination Board, it may request the administrative department for patent affairs to suspend the handling.

Where the administrative authority for patent affairs considers that the reasons for suspension put forward by the claimant are obviously untenable, it may not suspend the processing.

Article 83 Where the patentee, in accordance with the provisions of Article 17 of the Patent Law, marks a patent mark on its patented product or on the package of that product, it shall do so in the manner prescribed by the patent administration department under The State Council.

Where the marking of a patent does not conform to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the administrative authority for patent affairs shall order it to make corrections.

Article 84 The following acts are acts of passing off a patent as provided for in Article 63 of the Patent Law:

(1) marking a patent mark on a product or its package for which no patent right has been granted, continuing to mark a patent mark on the product or its package after the patent right has been declared invalid or terminated, or marking the patent number of another person on the product or its package without permission;

(2) selling the products mentioned in item (1);

(3) referring in a product description or other materials to a technology or design for which no patent right has been granted as a patented technology or a patented design, referring to a patent application as a patent, or using the patent number of another person without permission, so that the public may mistake the technology or design involved as a patented technology or patented design;

(4) forging or altering patent certificates, patent documents or patent application documents;

(5) any other act that confuses the public and misidentifies the technology or design for which no patent right has been granted as a patented technology or design.

Where, before the termination of the patent right, a patented product, a product directly obtained by a patented method, or its packaging is marked with a patent mark in accordance with the law, and a promise to sell or sell the product after the termination of the patent right, it does not constitute a counterfeit patent act.

Where a person sells a product that he does not know is a counterfeit patent and can prove that the product is of legal origin, the administrative department for patent affairs shall order him to stop the sale, but shall be exempted from the penalty of fine.

Article 85 Except as provided for in Article 60 of the Patent Law, the administrative authority for patent affairs may, at the request of the parties, mediate the following patent disputes:

(1) Disputes over the right to apply for a patent or the ownership of the patent right;

(2) Disputes over the qualifications of the inventor or designer;

(3) A dispute over the reward or remuneration of the inventor or designer of a service invention-creation;

(4) Disputes over the use of the invention after the publication of the application for a patent for invention and before the grant of the patent right without paying the appropriate fees;

(5) Other patent disputes.

With respect to a dispute listed in item (4) of the preceding paragraph, where a party requests the administrative authority for patent affairs for mediation, the request shall be made after the grant of the patent right.

Article 86 Where a dispute arises over the ownership of the right to apply for a patent or the patent right and a party has requested the administrative authority for patent affairs to mediate or bring a suit before a people's court, it may request the patent administration department under The State Council to suspend the relevant procedures.

Where a request for suspension of the relevant procedures is made in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, a written request shall be submitted to the patent administration department under The State Council, together with a copy of the relevant acceptance documents of the administrative department for patent affairs or the people's court indicating the application number or the patent number.

After the conciliation statement made by the administrative authority for patent affairs or the judgment made by the people's court becomes effective, the parties shall go through the formalities for resuming the relevant procedures with the patent administration department under The State Council. Where, within one year from the date of the request for suspension, the dispute concerning the right to apply for a patent or the ownership of the patent right has not been settled, and it is necessary to continue to suspend the relevant procedures, the claimant shall request an extension of the suspension within the time limit. Where no request has been made to extend the time limit, the patent administration department under The State Council shall resume the relevant procedures on its own.

Article 87 Where a people's court orders the right to apply for a patent or the patent right to take preservation measures in the trial of a civil case, the patent administration department under The State Council shall suspend the relevant procedures for the right to apply for a patent or the patent right to be preserved on the date of receipt of the written decision indicating the application number or the patent number and the notice of assistance in enforcement. Where the period of preservation expires and the people's court has not ruled to continue taking the measures of preservation, the patent administration department under The State Council shall resume the relevant procedures on its own.

Article 88 Suspension of the relevant procedures by the patent administration department under The State Council in accordance with Articles 86 and 87 of these Rules means suspension of the procedures for preliminary examination, substantive examination and reexamination of an application for a patent, the procedures for grant of patent right and the procedures for invalidation of patent right; The formalities for renunciation, alteration or transfer of the patent right or the right to apply for a patent shall be suspended, the formalities for pledge of the patent right shall be suspended, and the formalities for termination of the patent right before its expiration shall be suspended.

Chapter VIII Patent Registration and Patent Bulletin

Article 89 The patent administration department under The State Council shall maintain a patent register to register the following matters relating to patent applications and patent rights:

(1) Grant of patent right;

(2) Transfer of the right to apply for a patent or the patent right;

(3) Pledge, preservation and dissolution of the patent right;

(4) Filing of patent licensing contracts;

(5) Invalidation of the patent right;

(6) Termination of the patent right;

(7) Restoration of the patent right;

(8) Compulsory license for exploitation of a patent;

(9) Changes in the name, nationality and address of the patentee.

Article 90 The patent administration department under The State Council shall publish a patent gazette on a regular basis, promulgating or announcing the following:

(1) The description and summary of the invention patent application;

(2) The request for substantive examination of an application for a patent for invention and the decision of the patent administration department under The State Council to conduct substantive examination of the application for a patent for invention on its own initiative;

(3) Rejection, withdrawal, deemed withdrawal, abandonment, recovery or transfer of an application for a patent for invention after publication;

(4) Grant of patent right and description of patent right;

(5) An abstract of the specification for the patent for invention or utility model, a picture or photograph of the patent for design;

(6) Declassification of national defense patents and secret patents;

(7) Invalidation of the patent right;

(8) Termination or restoration of the patent right;

(9) Transfer of patent right;

(10) Filing of patent licensing contracts;

(11) Pledge, preservation and dissolution of the patent right;

(12) Granting of a compulsory license for exploitation of a patent;

(13) Changes in the name or address of the patentee;

(14) Service of documents by public notice;

(15) Corrections made by the patent administration department under The State Council;

(16) Other relevant matters.

Article 91 The patent administration department under The State Council shall make available to the public, free of charge, the patent bulletin, the copy of the application for a patent for invention, the copy of the patent for invention, the patent for utility model and the patent for design.

Article 92 The patent administration department under The State Council shall be responsible for exchanging patent documents with patent offices or regional patent organizations of other countries or regions in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.

Chapter IX Expenses

Article 93 When applying for a patent and going through other formalities with the patent administration department under The State Council, the following fees shall be paid:

(1) Application fee, application surcharge, publication and printing fee, and priority claim fee;

(2) Fees for substantive examination and reexamination of an application for a patent for invention;

(3) Patent registration fees, announcement and printing fees, and annual fees;

(4) Claims for restoration of rights and claims for extension of time limits;

(5) Fee for change of description, fee for request for patent right evaluation report, fee for request for invalidation.

The standards for payment of the fees listed in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the price administrative department and the financial department under The State Council jointly with the patent administrative department under The State Council.

Article 94 The fees provided for in the Patent Law and these Rules may be paid directly to the patent administration department under The State Council, or by remittance by post or bank, or by any other means prescribed by the patent Administration Department under The State Council.

Where payment is made by post or bank, the correct application number or patent number and the name of the fee paid shall be indicated on the remittance form submitted to the patent administration department under The State Council. Those who do not comply with the provisions of this paragraph shall be deemed to have not gone through the payment procedures.

Where a fee is paid directly to the patent administration department under The State Council, the payment date shall be the payment date; If the fee is paid by post remittance, the date of the postmark of the post office remittance shall be the payment date; If the fee is paid by bank transfer, the date of actual remittance by the bank shall be the payment date.

Where the patent fee is overpaid, repaid or wrongly paid, the party may, within three years from the date of payment, file a request for refund with the patent administration department under The State Council, which shall refund it.

Article 95 The applicant shall, within 2 months from the date of application or within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification of acceptance, pay the application fee, publication and printing fee and the necessary application surcharge. If the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Where an applicant claims the right of priority, it shall pay the right of priority claim fee along with the application fee; Where the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, the right of priority shall be deemed not to be claimed.

Article 96 Where a party requests substantive examination or reexamination, it shall pay the fee within the relevant time limit prescribed in the Patent Law and these Rules. If the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that no request has been made.

Article 97 When going through the registration formalities, the applicant shall pay the patent registration fee, the fee for announcement and printing and the annual fee for the year in which the patent right is granted. If the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that the registration formalities have not been completed.

Article 98 The annual fee after the year in which the patent right is granted shall be paid before the expiration of the previous year. Where the patentee fails to pay the annual fee or fails to pay it in full, the patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the patentee to make the payment within six months from the date on which the annual fee should be paid, together with the late fee; The amount of late payment fee shall be calculated at 5% of the full annual fee for each month exceeding the prescribed payment time. If the patent right is not paid at the expiration of the time limit, the patent right shall terminate from the date on which the annual fee shall be paid.

Article 99 The fee for restoration of rights shall be paid within the relevant time limit prescribed in these Rules; If the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that no request has been made.

The request fee for extension of time limit shall be paid before the expiration of the corresponding time limit; If the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that no request has been made.

The fee for the change of description items, the fee for the request for patent right evaluation report and the fee for the request for invalidation shall be paid within 1 month from the date of filing the request. If the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, it shall be deemed that no request has been made.

Article 100 Where the applicant or the patentee has difficulty in paying any of the fees provided for in these Detailed Rules, he or she may, in accordance with the provisions, make a request to the patent administration department under The State Council for reduction or suspension of payment. Measures for reduction or suspension of payment shall be formulated by the financial department under The State Council jointly with the price administrative department under The State Council and the patent administrative department under The State Council.

Chapter X Special provisions on international applications

Article 101 The patent administration department under The State Council shall, in accordance with Article 20 of the Patent Law, accept an international application for patent filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

The provisions of this Chapter shall apply to the conditions and procedures for an international patent application filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty and designated in China (hereinafter referred to as an international application) to enter the processing stage of the patent administration department under The State Council (hereinafter referred to as entering the national stage in China); Where there are no provisions in this Chapter, the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and other chapters of these Detailed Rules shall apply.

Article 102 An international application for which an international filing date has been fixed and China designated in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty shall be deemed to be a patent application filed with the patent administration department under The State Council, and the international filing date shall be deemed to be the filing date referred to in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

Article 103 The applicant for an international application shall, within 30 months from the priority date referred to in Article 2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (referred to in this chapter as the priority date), complete the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase with the patent administration department under The State Council; If the applicant fails to go through the formalities within the time limit, after paying the grace fee, he may go through the formalities for entering the national stage in China within 32 months from the priority date.

Article 104 Where an applicant goes through the formalities for entering the national phase in China in accordance with the provisions of Article 103 of these Rules, it shall meet the following requirements:

(1) Submit a written declaration in Chinese to enter the national phase in China, indicating the international application number and the type of patent right required;

(2) To pay the application fee as prescribed in paragraph 1 of Article 93 of these Rules, the fee for publication and printing, and, if necessary, the grace fee as prescribed in Article 103 of these Rules;

(3) If the international application is filed in a foreign language, submit the Chinese translation of the description of the original international application and the claims;

(4) In the written declaration to enter the national phase in China, state the name of the invention-creation, the name or title of the applicant, the address and the name of the inventor, which shall be consistent with the records of the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau); If the inventor is not named in the international application, the name of the inventor shall be stated in the above-mentioned declaration;

(5) If the international application is filed in a foreign language, submit the Chinese translation of the abstract, if there are attached drawings and drawings, submit a copy of the attached drawings and copies of the abstract and drawings, and replace them with the corresponding Chinese text if there is text in the attached drawings; If the international application is filed in Chinese, the abstracts and copies of drawings attached to the abstracts in the internationally published documents shall be submitted;

(6) In the international stage, the International Bureau has gone through the formalities for the change of the applicant, and provide proof that the applicant enjoys the right to apply after the change;

(7) When necessary, pay the application surcharge provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 93 of these Rules.

Where the requirements of subparagraphs (1) to (3) of paragraph 1 of this Article are met, the patent administration department under The State Council shall issue an application number, specify the date on which the international application enters the national phase in China (hereinafter referred to as the entry date), and notify the applicant that the international application has entered the national phase in China.

Where an international application has entered the Chinese national phase but does not meet the requirements of subparagraphs (4) to (7) of paragraph 1 of this Article, the patent administration department under The State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within a specified time limit. If no rectification is made at the expiration of the time limit, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

Article 105 The validity of an international application in China shall cease under any of the following circumstances:

(1) During the international phase, the international application is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, or the designation of China in the international application is withdrawn;

(2) The applicant fails to complete the formalities for entering the national phase in China in accordance with Article 103 of these Rules within 32 months from the priority date;

(3) Where the applicant has completed the formalities for entering the national phase in China, but still fails to meet the requirements of items (1) to (3) of Article 104 of these Rules upon the expiration of 32 months from the priority date.

Where the validity of an international application ceases in China in accordance with the provisions of item (1) of the preceding paragraph, the provisions of Article 6 of these Rules shall not apply; Where the validity of an international application ceases in China in accordance with the provisions of items (2) and (3) of the preceding paragraph, the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 6 of these Rules shall not apply.

Article 106 Where an international application has been amended during the international phase and the applicant requests that the examination be conducted on the basis of the amended application documents, the Chinese translation of the amended part shall be submitted within two months from the date of entry. Where no Chinese translation is submitted within the time limit, the patent administration department under The State Council shall not consider the amendment proposed by the applicant at the international stage.

Article 107 Where an invention-creation involved in an international application falls under one of the circumstances listed in item (1) or (2) of Article 24 of the Patent Law, and a declaration was made at the time of filing the international application, the applicant shall make a statement in the written declaration of entering the national phase in China, and submit the relevant supporting documents provided for in paragraph 3 of Article 30 of these Rules within two months from the date of entry; Where no explanation has been given or no supporting documents have been submitted within the time limit, the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to the application.

Article 108 Where, in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the applicant has made an explanation for the storage of samples of biological materials, the requirements of item (3) of Article 24 of these Rules shall be deemed to have been satisfied. The applicant shall specify in the declaration of entering the national phase in China the document recording the storage of biological material samples and the specific location of the record in the document.

If the applicant has recorded the storage of biological material samples in the specification of the international application originally submitted, but it has not been specified in the declaration of entering the national phase in China, it shall make corrections within 4 months from the date of entry. If no correction is made at the expiration of the time limit, the biological material shall be deemed not to have been submitted for storage.

Where, within 4 months from the date of entry, the applicant submits to the patent administration Department under The State Council the certificate of preservation and the certificate of survival of the biological material sample, the applicant shall be deemed to have submitted the certificate within the time limit prescribed in Item (1) of Article 24 of these Rules.

Article 109 Where the invention-creation involved in an international application relies on genetic resources, the applicant shall give an explanation in the written declaration on the entry of the international application into the national phase in China, and fill in the form drawn up by the patent administration department under The State Council.

Article 110 Where an applicant has claimed one or more priority rights in the international phase, and the claim continues to be valid when it enters the Chinese national phase, it shall be deemed to have made a written declaration in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law.

The applicant shall pay the priority claim fee within 2 months from the date of entry; Where the payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, the right of priority shall be deemed not to have been claimed.

Where the applicant has submitted a copy of the earlier application documents in the international phase in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, it is not necessary to submit a copy of the earlier application documents to the patent administration department under The State Council when going through the formalities for entering the national phase in China. Where the applicant fails to submit a copy of the earlier application at the international stage, the patent administration department under The State Council may, when deemed necessary, notify the applicant to make up the copy within a specified time limit. Where the applicant fails to submit the application within the time limit, its claim for priority shall be deemed to have not been filed.

Article 111 Where, before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date, the patent administration department under The State Council is requested to process and examine an international application in advance, the applicant shall, in addition to going through the formalities for entering the national phase in China, submit a request in accordance with the provisions of Article 23, paragraph 2, of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Where the International Bureau has not transmitted the international application to the patent Administration Department under The State Council, the applicant shall submit a confirmed copy of the international application.

Article 112 Where an international application for the patent right for utility model is requested, the applicant may, within two months from the date of entry, voluntarily propose to amend the patent application documents.

The provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 51 of these Rules shall apply to the international application for the patent right for invention.

Article 113 Where an applicant finds that there are errors in the Chinese translation of the text in the description, claim or attached drawing submitted, he or she may, within the following prescribed time limits, make corrections in accordance with the original text of the international application:

(1) before the patent administration department under The State Council makes preparations for the publication of the application for a patent for invention or the announcement of the patent right for utility model;

(2) within 3 months from the date of receipt of the notice issued by the patent administration department under The State Council that the application for a patent for invention has entered the stage of substantive examination.

Where the applicant corrects a translation error, he shall submit a written request and pay the prescribed translation correction fee.

Where the applicant corrects the translation in accordance with the requirements of the notification issued by the patent Administration Department under The State Council, it shall complete the formalities provided for in paragraph 2 of this Article within the specified time limit; Where the prescribed formalities have not been completed at the expiration of the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 114 Where the patent administration department under The State Council, after preliminary examination, finds that an international application for the patent right for invention is in conformity with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall publish it in the Patent Gazette. Where an international application is filed in a language other than Chinese, the Chinese translation of the application documents shall be published.

Where an international application for a patent right for invention is published internationally in Chinese by the International Bureau, the provisions of Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply as from the date of international publication; Where an international publication is made by the International Bureau in a language other than Chinese, the provisions of Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply from the date of publication by the patent administration department under The State Council.

For international applications, the term "publication" in Articles 21 and 22 of the Patent Law means the publication provided for in paragraph 1 of this article.

Article 115 Where an international application contains two or more inventions or utility models, the applicant may, as of the date of entry, file a divisional application in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 42 of these Rules.

In the international phase, when the international search authority or the international preliminary examination authority considers that the international application does not meet the single requirements stipulated in the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the applicant fails to pay the surcharge in accordance with the provisions, resulting in some parts of the international application without international search or international preliminary examination, and when entering the Chinese national phase, the applicant requires that the said parts be used as the basis for examination. Where the patent administration department under The State Council considers that the international searching authority or the international preliminary examination authority has made a correct judgment on the singleness of the invention, it shall notify the applicant to pay the singleness recovery fee within a specified time limit. Where payment has not been made or has not been made in full at the expiration of the time limit, the part of the international application that has not been searched or has not been subjected to international preliminary examination shall be deemed withdrawn.

Article 116 Where, during the international phase of an international application, the relevant international unit refuses to grant the international filing date or declares that it has been withdrawn, the applicant may, within two months from the date of receipt of the notification, request the International Bureau to transmit a copy of any document in the file of the international application to the patent administration Department under The State Council. The patent administration department under The State Council shall, after receiving the documents transmitted by the International Bureau, review whether the decision made by the international unit is correct or not.

Article 117 Where a patent right granted on the basis of an international application is incorrectly translated, so that the scope of protection determined in accordance with Article 59 of the Patent Law exceeds the scope expressed in the original text of the international application, the scope of protection limited on the basis of the original text shall prevail; If the scope of protection is less than that expressed in the original text of the international application, the scope of protection at the time of authorization shall prevail.

Chapter XI Supplementary Provisions

Article 118 With the consent of the patent administration department under The State Council, any person may consult or copy the case file and patent register of a patent application that has been published or announced, and may request the patent administration Department under The State Council to issue a copy of the patent register.

The case file of a patent application that has been regarded as withdrawn, rejected or voluntarily withdrawn shall not be kept after the expiration of two years from the date of the expiration of the patent application.

The case file of a patent right that has been abandoned, declared completely invalid or terminated shall not be kept after the expiration of three years from the date of expiration of the patent right.

Article 119 Where an application document is submitted to the patent administration department under The State Council or various formalities are completed, it shall be signed or sealed by the applicant, the patentee, any other interested party or its representative. Where a patent agency is entrusted, it shall be sealed by the patent agency.

Where a request is made to change the name of the inventor, the name, nationality and address of the applicant for patent and the patentee, the name, address of the patent agency and the name of the agent, the administrative department for patent under The State Council shall go through the formalities for the alteration of the bibliography and shall be accompanied by supporting materials for the reason for the alteration.

Article 120 Documents relating to an application or patent right shall be mailed to the patent administration department under The State Council by registered mail, and parcels shall not be used.

Where, in addition to filing a patent application for the first time, various documents are submitted to the patent administration department under The State Council and various formalities are completed, the application number or patent number, the name of the invention-creation and the name or name of the applicant or patentee shall be indicated.

One letter should contain only documents relating to the same application.

Article 121 All kinds of application documents shall be typed or printed in black, neat and clear handwriting, and shall not be altered. Drawings shall be drawn with drawing tools and black ink, lines shall be uniform and clear, and shall not be altered.

Requests, specifications, claims, drawings and abstracts shall be numbered in Arabic numerals respectively.

The text of the application documents shall be written horizontally. Paper is limited to one side.

Article 122 The patent administration department under The State Council shall, in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules, formulate guidelines for patent examination.

Article 123 These Rules shall come into force as of July 1, 2001. The Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, as amended by The State Council on December 12, 1992 and promulgated by the Patent Office of China on December 21, 1992, shall be repealed simultaneously.