"Implementing Rules for the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China"

November 9, 2023

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 All formalities prescribed by the Patent Law and these Rules shall be handled in written form or in other forms prescribed by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council. Electronic data messages that can tangibly express the contents contained therein and can be retrieved and used at any time (hereinafter collectively referred to as electronic forms) by means of electronic data exchange shall be deemed to be in written form.

Article 3 All documents submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules shall be in Chinese. If there are unified scientific and technological terms stipulated by the state, the standard terms shall be used; if there is no unified Chinese translation of foreign names, place names and scientific and technological terms, the original text shall be indicated.

Where the various certificates and supporting documents to be submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules are in a foreign language, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council may, if it deems it necessary, require the parties concerned to attach a Chinese translation within a specified period of time; if the translation is not attached within the time limit, the certificates and supporting documents shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 4 The date of submission of various documents mailed to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall be the date of the postmark. If the postmark date is unclear, the date of receipt by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall be the date of submission unless the party concerned can provide proof.

For any documents submitted to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council in electronic form, the date of entry into the specific electronic system designated by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall be the submission date.

Various documents of the patent administration department of the State Council may be delivered to the parties in electronic form, by mail, directly or by other means. If the parties entrust a patent agency, the documents shall be delivered to the patent agency; if the parties do not entrust a patent agency, the documents shall be delivered to the contact person specified in the application.

For various documents mailed by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, the date on which the party concerned receives the document shall be presumed to be 15 days after the date on which the document is sent. If the party concerned provides evidence to prove the actual date of receipt of the document, the actual date of receipt shall prevail.

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

If the address for delivering the document is unclear and cannot be mailed, it can be delivered to the party concerned by means of announcement. The document will be deemed to have been delivered after one month from the date of the announcement.

For various documents delivered in electronic form by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, the date on which they enter the electronic system recognized by the parties shall be the date of delivery.

Article 5 The day on which the various time limits prescribed in the Patent Law and these Rules begin shall not be counted within the time limit, but shall be counted from the next day. If the time limit is calculated in years or months, the corresponding day of the last month shall be the expiration date; if there is no corresponding day in the month, the last day of the month shall be the expiration date; if the expiration date is a statutory holiday, the first working day after the holiday shall be the expiration date.

Article 6 If a party loses its rights due to force majeure due to delay in meeting the time limit prescribed by the Patent Law or these Rules or the time limit designated by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, it may request the Patent Administration Department of the State Council to restore its rights within 2 months from the date on which the obstacle is removed and within 2 years from the date on which the time limit expires.

Except for the circumstances provided for in the preceding paragraph, if a party delays the time limit prescribed by the Patent Law or these Rules or the time limit specified by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council due to other legitimate reasons, resulting in the loss of its rights, it may request the Patent Administration Department of the State Council to restore its rights within 2 months from the date of receipt of the notification from the Patent Administration Department of the State Council; however, if it delays the time limit for requesting reexamination, it may request the Patent Administration Department of the State Council to restore its rights within 2 months from the date of expiration of the time limit for requesting reexamination.

If a party requests restoration of rights in accordance with the provisions of the first or second paragraph of this Article, he or she shall submit a request for restoration of rights, stating the reasons and attaching relevant supporting documents when necessary, and go through the corresponding procedures that should have been completed before the rights were lost; if a party requests restoration of rights in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of this Article, a fee for requesting restoration of rights shall also be paid.

If a party requests an extension of the time limit specified by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, it shall submit a request for extension to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council before the expiration of the time limit, stating the reasons and completing the relevant procedures.

The provisions of the first and second paragraphs of this Article shall not apply to the time limits stipulated in Articles 24, 29, 42 and 74 of the Patent Law.

Article 7 If a patent application involves national defense interests and needs to be kept confidential, it shall be accepted and examined by the national defense patent agency; if a patent application accepted by the State Council patent administration department involves national defense interests and needs to be kept confidential, it shall be promptly transferred to the national defense patent agency for examination. If no grounds for rejection are found after examination by the national defense patent agency, the State Council patent administration department shall make a decision to grant the national defense patent right.

If the patent administration department of the State Council believes that the invention or utility model patent application it has accepted involves national security or major interests other than national defense interests and needs to be kept confidential, it shall promptly make a decision to handle it as a confidential patent application and notify the applicant. The special procedures for the examination and reexamination of confidential patent applications and the declaration of invalidity of confidential patent rights shall be prescribed by the patent administration department of the State Council.

Article 8 The invention or utility model completed in China as referred to in Article 19 of the Patent Law means an invention or utility model the substantive content of the technical solution of which is completed within the territory of China.

Any unit or individual applying for a patent in a foreign country for an invention or utility model completed in China shall request the patent administration department of the State Council to conduct a confidentiality review in one of the following ways:

(1) Where a patent application is filed directly in a foreign country or an international patent application is submitted to a relevant foreign institution, a request shall be submitted in advance to the patent administration department of the State Council and a detailed description of the technical solution shall be given;

(2) If, after applying for a patent with the patent administration department of the State Council, one intends to apply for a patent in a foreign country or submit an international patent application to a relevant foreign institution, one shall submit a request to the patent administration department of the State Council before applying for a patent in a foreign country or submitting an international patent application to a relevant foreign institution.

Submitting an international patent application to the patent administration department of the State Council shall be deemed as submitting a request for confidentiality review at the same time.

Article 9 Where the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, after receiving a request submitted in accordance with Article 8 of these Rules, considers, after examination, that the invention or utility model may involve national security or major interests and needs to be kept confidential, it shall issue a confidentiality review notice to the applicant within 2 months from the date of submission of the request; if the situation is complicated, the period may be extended by 2 months.

If the Patent Administration Department of the State Council notifies the applicant to conduct a confidentiality review in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it shall make a decision on whether confidentiality is required within 4 months from the date of submission of the request and notify the applicant; if the situation is complicated, the period may be extended by 2 months.

Article 10 The inventions and creations that violate the law as referred to in Article 5 of the Patent Law do not include inventions and creations the mere implementation of which is prohibited by law.

Article 11 Patent applications shall follow the principle of honesty and trustworthiness. Applications for various types of patents shall be based on real inventions and creations, and no fraud or deception is allowed .

Article 12 Except for the circumstances provided for in Articles 28 and 42 of the Patent Law, the application date referred to in the Patent Law shall mean the priority date if there is a priority date.

The application date referred to in these Rules, unless otherwise provided for, means the application date prescribed in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

Article 13 The term "service inventions and creations completed in the course of performing the duties of the unit" as stated in Article 6 of the Patent Law refers to:

(1) inventions and creations made in the course of their job duties;

(2) inventions and creations made in the course of performing tasks other than the job duties assigned by the unit;

(3) inventions and creations made within one year after retirement, transfer from the original unit, or termination of the labor or personnel relationship, which are related to the original work undertaken by the person or the tasks assigned by the original unit.

The "unit" referred to in Article 6 of the Patent Law includes a temporary work unit; the "material and technical conditions of the unit" referred to in Article 6 of the Patent Law refers to the unit's funds, equipment, parts, raw materials or technical information and materials not disclosed to the public.

Article 14 The inventor or designer as used in the Patent Law refers to a person who has made a creative contribution to the substantial features of an invention. In the process of completing an invention, a person who is only responsible for organizing the work, providing convenience for the use of material and technical conditions, or performing other auxiliary work is not an inventor or designer.

Article 15 Where a patent right is transferred for any other reason other than the transfer of the patent right in accordance with Article 10 of the Patent Law, the party concerned shall go through the formalities for the transfer of the patent right with the patent administration department of the State Council on the basis of relevant certification documents or legal instruments.

A patent implementation license contract concluded between a patent owner and others shall be filed with the patent administration department of the State Council within three months from the date of effectiveness of the contract.

Where a patent right is pledged, the pledger and the pledgee shall jointly apply to the patent administration department of the State Council for registration of the pledge.

Article 16 Patent work shall implement the Party and State's strategic deployment of intellectual property rights, improve China's level of patent creation, application, protection, management and services, support comprehensive innovation and promote the construction of an innovative nation.

The patent administrative department of the State Council shall enhance the public service capabilities of patent information, publish patent information in a complete, accurate and timely manner, provide basic patent data, and promote the open sharing and interconnection of patent-related data resources.

Chapter II Patent Application

Article 17: When applying for a patent, an application document shall be submitted to the patent administration department of the State Council. The application document shall comply with the prescribed requirements.

If an applicant entrusts a patent agency to apply for patents and handle other patent matters with the patent administration department of the State Council, he or she shall submit a power of attorney at the same time, stating the power of attorney.

If there are more than two applicants and they have not appointed a patent agency, the first applicant specified in the application shall be the representative, unless otherwise stated in the application.

Article 18 Where a patent application or other patent affairs are applied for in China and a patent agency is entrusted in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 18 of the Patent Law, the applicant or patentee may handle the following affairs on his/her own:

(1) Where the application claims priority, a copy of the patent application filed first (hereinafter referred to as the prior application) shall be submitted;

(2) paying fees;

(3) Other matters prescribed by the patent administration department of the State Council.

Article 19 The written application for an invention, utility model or design patent shall state the following matters:

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

(2) If the applicant is a Chinese entity or individual, its name, address, postal code, unified social credit code or identity document number; if the applicant is a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization, its name, nationality or country or region of registration;

(3) the name of the inventor or designer;

(iv) If the applicant entrusts a patent agency, the name and agency code of the agency, and the name, patent agent qualification certificate number and contact telephone number of the patent agent designated by the agency;

(5) if priority is claimed, the filing date and application number of the earlier application and the name of the original receiving agency;

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

(VII) List of application documents;

(8) List of additional documents;

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

Article 20 The description of an invention or utility model patent application shall state the title of the invention or utility model, which shall be consistent with the title in the application. The description shall include the following contents:

(1) Technical field: indicate the technical field to which the technical solution for which protection is sought belongs;

(ii) Background technology: state the background technology that is useful for understanding, searching and examining the invention or utility model; if possible, cite documents reflecting such background technology;

(3) Content of the invention: state the technical problem to be solved by the invention or utility model and the technical solution adopted to solve the technical problem, and state the beneficial effects of the invention or utility model in comparison with the prior art;

(iv) Description of drawings: if the specification includes drawings, a brief description of each drawing shall be given;

(V) Specific implementation methods: describe in detail the preferred methods that the applicant believes to be preferred for implementing the invention or utility model; provide examples when necessary; and provide references to the drawings, if any.

An applicant for an invention or utility model patent shall prepare the description in the manner and sequence prescribed in the preceding paragraph and shall indicate a title before each part of the description, unless the nature of the invention or utility model is such that writing in another manner or sequence can save the length of the description and enable others to accurately understand the invention or utility model.

The description of an invention or utility model shall use standard words and clear sentences, and shall not use quotations such as "as claimed in claims..." or commercial promotional terms.

If an invention patent application contains one or more nucleotide or amino acid sequences, the description shall include a sequence listing that complies with the regulations of the patent administration department of the State Council.

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

Article 21 The several drawings of an invention or utility model shall be numbered in the order of “Figure 1, Figure 2, …”.

A reference numeral not mentioned in the text of the invention or utility model specification shall not appear in the drawings, and a reference numeral not appearing in the drawings shall not be mentioned in the text of the specification. The reference numerals indicating the same component in the application document shall be consistent.

The drawings should not contain any annotations other than the necessary words.

Article 22 The claims shall record the technical features of the invention or utility model.

If there are several claims in a claim document, they should be numbered sequentially using Arabic numerals.

The scientific and technological terms used in the claims shall be consistent with those used in the specification. Chemical formulas or mathematical formulas may be included, but no illustrations are allowed. Unless absolutely necessary, the phrases "as described in the specification..." or "as shown in the figure..." shall not be used.

The technical features in the claims may refer to the corresponding marks in the drawings of the specification. Such marks shall be placed after the corresponding technical features and in brackets to facilitate the understanding of the claims. The drawing marks shall not be interpreted as limiting the claims.

Article 23 A claim list shall contain independent claims and may also contain dependent claims.

An independent claim shall reflect the technical solution of the invention or utility model as a whole and record the necessary technical features for solving the technical problem.

A dependent claim should further define the cited claim with additional technical features.

Article 24 An independent claim of an invention or utility model shall include a preamble and a characterizing part and shall be drafted in accordance with the following provisions:

(1) Preamble: stating the title of the invention or utility model technical scheme for which protection is sought and the essential technical features shared by the invention or utility model subject matter and the closest prior art;

(ii) Characteristic part: Use "its characteristics are..." or similar terms to state the technical features that distinguish the invention or utility model from the closest prior art. These features, together with the features stated in the preamble, define the scope of protection claimed for the invention or utility model.

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

An invention or utility model should have only one independent claim, which should be written before the dependent claims of the same invention or utility model.

Article 25 A dependent claim of an invention or utility model shall include a reference section and a limitation section and shall be drafted in accordance with the following provisions:

(I) Reference part: indicate the number of the cited claim and its subject title;

(ii) Limitation part: specifying the additional technical features of the invention or utility model.

A dependent claim can only refer to a previous claim. Multiple dependent claims that refer to more than two claims can only refer to the previous claim in a selective manner and cannot serve as the basis for another multiple dependent claim.

Article 26 The abstract of the specification shall state a summary of the contents disclosed in the invention or utility model patent application, 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 key points of the technical solution to the problem and its main uses.

The abstract of the specification may contain the chemical formula that best describes the invention; for patent applications with drawings, a specification drawing that best describes the technical features of the invention or utility model shall be designated as the abstract drawing in the application. Commercial promotional terms shall not be used in the abstract.

Article 27 Where the invention for which a patent is applied for involves a new biological material which is not available to the public and the description of the biological material is not sufficient to enable a person skilled in the art to carry out 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 formalities:

(1) submitting a sample of the biological material for deposit with a depository recognized by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council before the date of application or at the latest on the date of application (the priority date if there is a priority right), and submitting a deposit certificate and a survival certificate issued by the depository at the time of application or at the latest within four months from the date of application; if the certificate is not submitted within the time limit, the sample shall be deemed not to have been submitted for deposit;

(2) Provide information on the characteristics of the biological material in the application documents;

(3) Patent applications involving the deposit of biological material samples shall state in the application and description the classification name of the biological material (indicating the Latin name), the name and address of the unit that deposits the biological material samples, the deposit date and the deposit number; if not stated in the application, it shall be corrected within 4 months from the date of application; if it is not corrected within the deadline, it shall be deemed that the deposit has not been submitted.

Article 28 Where an invention patent applicant deposits a sample of biological material in accordance with the provisions of Article 27 of these Rules, after the invention patent application is published, any unit or individual that needs to use the biological material covered by the patent application for experimental purposes shall submit a request to the patent administration department of the State Council and specify the following matters:

(1) Name and address of the applicant;

(2) a guarantee that the biological material will not be provided to any other person;

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

Article 29 Genetic resources as used in the Patent Law refer to materials taken from human bodies, animals, plants or microorganisms that contain genetic functional units and have actual or potential value, and genetic information generated using such materials; inventions and creations that rely on genetic resources as used in the Patent Law refer to inventions and creations that are achieved by utilizing the genetic functions of genetic resources.

When applying for a patent for an invention or creation that relies on genetic resources, the applicant shall explain this in the application and fill in the form prepared by the patent administration department of the State Council.

Article 30 The applicant shall submit relevant pictures or photos of the contents that need to be protected for each design product.

When applying for a partial design patent, a view of the entire product should be submitted, and the content of the part to be protected should be indicated by a combination of dotted lines and solid lines or other methods.

If the applicant requests color protection, he or she shall submit color pictures or photos.

Article 31 The brief description of the design shall state the name and purpose of the design product, the main design features of the design, and specify a picture or photo that best illustrates the main design features. If views are omitted or color protection is requested, it shall be stated in the brief description.

When a design patent application is filed for multiple similar designs of the same product, one of them should be designated as the basic design in the brief description.

When applying for a partial design patent, the part for which protection is sought shall be clearly stated in the brief description, except where it has been indicated by a combination of dotted and solid lines in the view of the overall product.

The brief description shall not use commercial promotional terms or describe the product's performance.

Article 32 Where the Patent Administration Department of the State Council deems it necessary, it may require the applicant for a design patent 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 shall not be submitted as samples or models.

Article 33 The international exhibition recognized by the Chinese government as referred to in Article 24, paragraph (2) of the Patent Law means an international exhibition registered with or recognized by the Bureau of International Expositions as provided for in the Convention on International Exhibitions.

The academic conference or technical conference referred to in Article 24(3) of the Patent Law means an academic conference or technical conference convened by the relevant competent departments of the State Council or national academic organizations, as well as an academic conference or technical conference convened by international organizations and recognized by the relevant competent departments of the State Council.

If the invention-creation for which a patent is applied for falls under any of the circumstances listed in Article 24, Paragraph (2) or (3) of the Patent Law, the applicant shall declare such fact when filing the patent application and, within two months from the date of application, submit documentary proof that the invention-creation has been exhibited or published and the date of such exhibiting or publishing.

If the invention or creation for which a patent is applied for falls under any of the circumstances listed in Article 24, Paragraph (1) or (4) of the Patent Law, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council may, if it deems it necessary, require the applicant to submit supporting documents within a specified time limit.

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

Article 34 Where an applicant claims foreign priority in accordance with Article 30 of the Patent Law, the copy of the prior application document submitted by the applicant shall be certified by the original receiving agency. Where the Patent Administration Department of the State Council obtains a copy of the prior application document through electronic exchange or other means in accordance with the agreement signed between the Patent Administration Department of the State Council and the receiving agency, the applicant shall be deemed to have submitted a copy of the prior application document certified by the receiving agency. Where the applicant claims domestic priority and indicates the filing date and application number of the prior application in the application, the applicant shall be deemed to have submitted a copy of the prior application document.

Where priority is claimed but one or two of the filing date, application number and name of the original accepting agency of the prior application are omitted or incorrectly written in the application, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within the specified time limit; if the corrections are not made within the time limit, it shall be deemed that priority is not claimed.

If the name or name of the applicant claiming priority is inconsistent with the name or name of the applicant recorded in the copy of the prior application document, the applicant shall submit proof of transfer of priority. If such proof is not submitted, it shall be deemed that priority is not claimed.

Where an applicant for a design patent claims foreign priority and his/her prior application does not include a brief description of the design, and the brief description submitted by the applicant in accordance with Article 31 of these Rules does not exceed the scope of the drawings or photographs in the prior application documents, this shall not affect his/her enjoyment of priority.

Article 35 An applicant may claim one or more priorities in a patent application; if multiple priorities are claimed, the priority period of the application shall be calculated from the earliest priority date.

If an applicant for an invention or utility model patent claims domestic priority, and the prior application is an invention patent application, he may file an invention or utility model patent application for the same subject matter; if the prior application is a utility model patent application, he may file a utility model or invention patent application for the same subject matter. If an applicant for a design patent claims domestic priority, and the prior application is an invention or utility model patent application, he may file a design patent application for the same subject matter for the design shown in the drawings; if the prior application is a design patent application, he may file a design patent application for the same subject matter. However, when filing a subsequent application, if the subject matter of the prior application falls under any of the following circumstances, it shall not be used as the basis for claiming domestic priority:

(1) Where foreign priority or domestic priority has been claimed;

(2) where a patent right has been granted;

(3) An application for division filed in accordance with the relevant regulations.

If an applicant claims domestic priority, his earlier application shall be deemed withdrawn from the date on which the later application is filed, except where the applicant for design patent claims to use invention or utility model patent application as the basis for domestic priority.

Article 36 If an applicant files an invention or utility model patent application for the same subject matter with the patent administration department of the State Council beyond the time limit prescribed in Article 29 of the Patent Law, he may request restoration of the priority right within 2 months from the date of expiration of the time limit if he has legitimate reasons .

Article 37 Where an applicant for an invention or utility model patent claims priority, he or she may request to add or correct the priority claim in the application within 16 months from the priority date or within 4 months from the filing date.

Article 38 Where an applicant who does not have a permanent residence or place of business in China applies for a patent or claims foreign priority, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council may, if it deems it necessary, require the applicant to provide the following documents:

(1) If the applicant is an individual, proof of his/her nationality;

(2) If the applicant is an enterprise or other organization, a document certifying the country or region of its registration;

(3) Documents certifying that 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 39: In accordance with the first paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law, two or more inventions or utility models belonging to a general inventive concept that may be filed as one patent application shall be technically related to each other and contain one or more identical or corresponding specific technical features, where specific technical features refer to the technical features that each invention or utility model contributes to the prior art as a whole .

Article 40 Where multiple similar designs for the same product are filed as one application in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law, the other designs of the product shall be similar to the basic design specified in the brief description. The number of similar designs in one design patent application shall not exceed 10.

The two or more designs of products of the same category and sold or used as a set as referred to in the second paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law means that the products belong to the same major category in the classification table, are customarily sold or used at the same time, and the designs of the products have the same design concept.

If two or more designs are submitted as one application, the serial numbers of the designs should be marked before the name of each picture or photograph of the design product.

Article 41 If an applicant withdraws a patent application, he or she shall submit a statement to the patent administration department of the State Council, stating the name of the invention, application number and filing date.

If the statement of withdrawal of a patent application is submitted after the patent administration department of the State Council has completed the printing preparations for the publication of the patent application documents, the application documents shall still be published; however, the statement of withdrawal of a patent application shall be announced in the Patent Gazette to be published later.

Chapter III Examination and Approval of Patent Application

Article 42 During the preliminary examination, substantive examination, reexamination and invalidation procedures, the personnel conducting the examination and trial shall recuse themselves if they are in any of the following circumstances, and the parties or other interested parties may request their recusation:

(1) He is a close relative of the party concerned or his agent;

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

(3) Having other relationships with the parties or their agents that may affect the impartiality of the review and trial;

(4) Having participated in the examination of the original application during the review or invalidation procedure.

Article 43 After receiving the application, description (utility models must include drawings) and claims of an invention or utility model patent application, or the application, pictures or photographs and brief description of a design patent application, it shall specify the application date, assign an application number and notify the applicant.

Article 44 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) An invention or utility model patent application lacks a written request, a description (no drawings for utility models) or a claim, or an industrial design patent application lacks a written request, a drawing or photograph, or a brief description;

(2) Not using the Chinese language;

(3) The format of the application documents does not comply with the regulations;

(iv) The application lacks the name or address of the applicant;

(5) obviously not complying with the provisions of Article 17 or the first paragraph of Article 18 of the Patent Law;

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

Article 45 Where an invention or utility model patent application lacks or erroneously submits claims, specifications, or part of claims or specifications, but the applicant claims priority on the date of submission, the applicant may make up the application by citing the prior application documents within 2 months from the date of submission or within the time limit specified by the patent administration department of the State Council. If the supplementary documents comply with the relevant provisions, the filing date of the first submission shall be the filing date.

Article 46 Where the specification contains a description of the drawings but there are no drawings or some drawings are missing, the applicant shall submit the drawings supplementarily or declare to cancel the description of the drawings within the time limit specified by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council. If the applicant submits the drawings supplementarily, the date of submission or mailing of the drawings to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall be the application date; if the description of the drawings is cancelled, the original application date shall be retained.

Article 47 Where two or more applicants apply for patents for the same invention-creation on the same day (the application date; if there is a priority, the priority date), they shall determine the applicants through consultation among themselves after receiving the notification from the patent administration department of the State Council.

If the same applicant applies for both a utility model patent and an invention patent for the same invention-creation on the same day (the application date), he or she shall separately state at the time of application that he or she has applied for another patent for the same invention-creation; if no statement is made, it shall be handled 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.

When the patent administration department of the State Council announces the grant of a utility model patent right, it shall publish a statement that the applicant has simultaneously applied for an invention patent in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of this Article.

If no grounds for rejection are found upon examination of an invention patent application, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall notify the applicant to declare a waiver of the utility model patent right within the prescribed period. If the applicant declares a waiver, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall make a decision to grant the invention patent right and announce the applicant's declaration of waiver of the utility model patent right at the same time as announcing the grant of the invention patent right. If the applicant does not agree to waive the waiver, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall reject the invention patent application; if the applicant fails to respond within the time limit, the invention patent application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

The patent right for a utility model shall terminate from the date of announcement of the grant of the invention patent right.

Article 48 Where a patent application includes two or more inventions, utility models or designs, the applicant may submit a divisional application to the patent administration department of the State Council before the expiration of the time limit prescribed in the first paragraph of Article 60 of these Rules; however, if the patent application has been rejected, withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, a divisional application cannot be submitted.

If the patent administration department of the State Council considers that a patent application does not comply with the provisions of Article 31 of the Patent Law and Article 39 or Article 40 of these Rules, it shall notify the applicant to modify its application within the specified time limit; if the applicant fails to respond within the time limit, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

A divisional application shall not change the category of the original application.

Article 49 A divisional application filed in accordance with Article 48 of these Rules may retain the original application date. If an application enjoys priority, it may retain the priority date, but the application shall not exceed the scope recorded in the original application.

The relevant formalities for a divisional application shall be handled in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules.

The request for divisional application should state the application number and filing date of the original application.

Article 50 The preliminary examination referred to in Articles 34 and 40 of the Patent Law means the examination of whether a patent application has the documents prescribed in Articles 26 or 27 of the Patent Law and other necessary documents, whether such documents conform to the prescribed format, and the examination of the following items:

(1) Whether the invention patent application obviously falls under the circumstances prescribed in Article 5 and Article 25 of the Patent Law, whether it does not comply with the provisions of Article 17, paragraph 1 of Article 18, paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Patent Law or Article 11, Article 19, paragraph 2 of Article 29 of these Rules, whether it obviously does not comply with the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 2, paragraph 5 of Article 26, paragraph 1 of Article 31, Article 33 of the Patent Law or Articles 20 to 24 of these Rules;

(2) Whether the utility model patent application obviously falls under the circumstances prescribed in Article 5 and Article 25 of the Patent Law, whether it does not comply with the provisions of Article 17, paragraph 1 of Article 18, paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Patent Law or Article 11, Articles 19 to 22, and Articles 24 to 26 of these Rules, whether it obviously does not comply with the provisions of paragraph 3 of Article 2, Article 22, paragraph 3 of Article 26, paragraph 4 of Article 26, paragraph 1 of Article 31, Article 33 of the Patent Law or Article 23 and paragraph 1 of Article 49 of these Rules, and whether it cannot obtain a patent right in accordance with Article 9 of the Patent Law;

(3) Whether the application for a patent for design obviously falls under the circumstances specified in Article 5 or Article 25, paragraph 1, item (f) of the Patent Law, whether it does not comply with the provisions of Article 17 or Article 18, paragraph 1 of the Patent Law or Articles 11, 19, 30 or 31 of these Rules, whether it obviously does not comply with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 4, Article 23, paragraph 1, Article 23, paragraph 2, Article 27, paragraph 2, Article 31, paragraph 2, Article 33 or Article 49, paragraph 1 of these Rules, and whether it cannot obtain a patent right in accordance with Article 9 of the Patent Law;

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

The Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall notify the applicant of the examination opinion and require the applicant to state his/her opinion or make corrections within the specified time limit; if the applicant fails to respond within the time limit, his/her application shall be deemed withdrawn. If the Patent Administration Department of the State Council still considers that the application does not comply with the provisions listed in the preceding paragraph after the applicant states his/her opinion or makes corrections, it shall be rejected.

Article 51 Except for patent application documents, other documents related to patent application submitted by an applicant to the patent administration department under the State Council shall be deemed as not submitted if any of the following circumstances occurs:

(1) Failure to use the prescribed format or filling in the form does not comply with the regulations;

(2) Failure to submit supporting documents in accordance with relevant regulations.

The patent administration department of the State Council shall notify the applicant of the examination opinion deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 52 Where an applicant requests early publication of his invention patent application, he shall make a declaration to the patent administration department of the State Council. After the patent administration department of the State Council conducts a preliminary examination of the application, it shall publish the application immediately unless it is rejected.

Article 53 Where an applicant specifies the product to which the design is to be applied and the category to which it belongs, the classification table of product designs published by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall be used. If the category to which the product to which the design is to be applied is not specified or the category specified is inaccurate, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council may make supplementary or revised provisions.

Article 54 From the date of publication of an invention patent application to the date of announcement of the grant of the patent right, any person may submit opinions to the patent administration department of the State Council on patent applications that do not comply with the provisions of the Patent Law, and state the reasons.

Article 55 If an applicant for an invention patent is unable to submit the search materials or examination results materials required by Article 36 of the Patent Law due to legitimate reasons, he or she shall declare this to the patent administration department of the State Council and submit the materials after obtaining the relevant materials.

Article 56 When the patent administration department of the State Council conducts its own examination of a patent application in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 35 of the Patent Law, it shall notify the applicant.

An applicant may request delayed examination of a patent application.

Article 57 An invention patent applicant may, on his or her own initiative, propose amendments to the invention patent application when filing a request for substantive examination and within three months from the date of receipt of the notice issued by the patent administration department of the State Council that the invention patent application has entered the substantive examination stage.

The applicant for a utility model or design patent may, within two months from the date of filing, proactively propose amendments to the utility model or design patent application.

If an applicant modifies the patent application documents after receiving the examination opinion notice issued by the patent administration department of the State Council, he or she should make modifications based on the defects pointed out in the notice.

The Patent Administration Department of the State Council may amend obvious errors in the words and symbols in patent application documents on its own initiative. If the Patent Administration Department of the State Council makes amendments on its own initiative, it shall notify the applicant.

Article 58: For the modification of the description or claims of an invention or utility model patent application, except for the modification or addition or deletion of individual words, a replacement page shall be submitted in accordance with the prescribed format. For the modification of the pictures or photos of a design patent application, a replacement page shall be submitted in accordance with the regulations.

Article 59 In accordance with Article 38 of the Patent Law, the circumstances under which an invention patent application should be rejected after substantive examination are:

(1) The application falls under the circumstances prescribed in Article 5 or Article 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 Article 2, paragraph 2, Article 19, paragraph 1, Article 22, Article 26, paragraph 3, Article 26, paragraph 4, Article 26, paragraph 5, Article 31, paragraph 1, or Article 11 or Article 23, paragraph 2 of these Rules;

(3) the amendment of the application does not comply with the provisions of Article 33 of the Patent Law, or the divisional application does not comply with the provisions of the first paragraph of Rule 49 of these Rules.

Article 60 After the patent administration department of the State Council issues a notice of granting patent rights, the applicant shall go through the registration procedures within 2 months from the date of receipt of the notice. If the applicant goes through the registration procedures on time, the patent administration department of the State Council shall grant the patent right, issue a patent certificate, and make an announcement.

Failure to complete the registration procedures before the expiration of the deadline will be deemed as a waiver of the right to obtain the patent right.

Article 61 If no grounds for rejection are found after examination of an application for a confidential patent, the patent administration department of the State Council shall make a decision to grant the confidential patent right, issue a confidential patent certificate, and register relevant matters regarding the confidential patent right.

Article 62 After the decision to grant a utility model or design patent is announced, the patentee, interested party, and alleged infringer as provided for in Article 66 of the Patent Law may request the State Council Patent Administration Department to make a patent right evaluation report. Applicants may request the State Council Patent Administration Department to make a patent right evaluation report when going through patent registration procedures.

When requesting a patent right evaluation report, a request for a patent right evaluation report shall be submitted, indicating the patent application number or patent number. Each request shall be limited to one patent application or patent right.

If the request for a patent evaluation report does not comply with the regulations, the patent administration department of the State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within the specified time limit; if the applicant fails to make corrections within the time limit, it shall be deemed that the request has not been made.

Article 63 The patent administration department of the State Council shall make a patent evaluation report within 2 months after receiving a request for a patent evaluation report. However, if an applicant requests a patent evaluation report when going through the patent registration procedures, the patent administration department of the State Council shall make a patent evaluation report within 2 months from the date of announcing the grant of the patent right.

If multiple applicants request a patent evaluation report for the same utility model or design patent, the State Council's patent administration department shall only make one patent evaluation report. Any unit or individual may review or copy the patent evaluation report.

Article 64: Once the patent administration department of the State Council discovers any error in the patent gazette or patent monograph, it shall correct it in a timely manner and announce the correction.

Chapter IV Review of Patent Application and Invalidation of Patent Right

Article 65 Where a request for review is made to the patent administration department of the State Council in accordance with Article 41 of the Patent Law, a request for review shall be submitted stating the reasons and, if necessary, attaching relevant evidence.

If the request for reexamination does not comply with the provisions of Article 18, paragraph 1, or Article 41, paragraph 1, of the Patent Law, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall not accept the request and shall notify the applicant for reexamination in writing and state the reasons.

If the request for reexamination does not conform to the prescribed format, the applicant for reexamination shall make corrections within the time limit specified by the patent administration department of the State Council; if the corrections are not made within the time limit, the request for reexamination shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 66. An applicant may amend the patent application documents when filing a request for reexamination or responding to a reexamination notice issued by the patent administration department of the State Council; however, the amendment shall be limited to eliminating the defects pointed out in the rejection decision or the reexamination notice.

Article 67 Where the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, after conducting a review, considers that the request for review does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules or that the patent application has other obvious violations of the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall notify the applicant for review and require him to state his opinion within a specified period. If no reply is given within the time limit, the request for review shall be deemed withdrawn; if the Patent Administration Department of the State Council considers that it still does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules after the opinions are stated or the amendments are made, it shall make a review decision to reject the request for review.

If, after review, the patent administration department of the State Council considers that the original rejection decision does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, or considers that the revised patent application documents have eliminated the defects pointed out in the original rejection decision and the reexamination notice, it shall revoke the original rejection decision and continue the examination procedure.

Article 68 The applicant for review may withdraw his or her request for review before the patent administration department of the State Council makes a decision.

If the applicant for reexamination withdraws his/her request for reexamination before the patent administration department of the State Council makes a decision, the reexamination procedure shall be terminated.

Article 69 Where a request is made to declare a patent invalid or partially invalid in accordance with Article 45 of the Patent Law, a written request for invalidation of the patent right and necessary evidence in duplicate shall be submitted to the patent administration department of the State Council. The written request for invalidation shall, in conjunction with all the evidence submitted, specify the grounds for the request for invalidation and indicate the evidence on which each ground is based.

The grounds for the request for invalidation as mentioned in the preceding paragraph mean that the patented invention-creation does not comply with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 1 of Article 19, Article 22, Article 23, paragraph 3 of Article 26, paragraph 4 of Article 26, paragraph 2 of Article 27, Article 33 of the Patent Law or Article 11, paragraph 2 of Article 23, paragraph 1 of Article 49 of these Rules, or falls under the circumstances stipulated in Article 5 or Article 25 of the Patent Law, or cannot obtain a patent right in accordance with Article 9 of the Patent Law.

Article 70 The patent administration department of the State Council shall not accept a request for declaration of invalidity of a patent right if it does not comply with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 18 of the Patent Law or Article 69 of these Rules.

If, after the Patent Administration Department of the State Council has made a decision on the request for invalidation, another request for invalidation is made based on the same reasons and evidence, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council will not accept the request.

Where a request is made to declare a design patent invalid on the grounds that it does not comply with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 23 of the Patent Law, but no evidence is submitted to prove the conflict of rights, the patent administration department of the State Council shall not accept the request.

If the request for declaration of invalidity of a patent right does not conform to the prescribed format, the applicant for invalidation shall make corrections within the time limit specified by the patent administration department of the State Council; if the corrections are not made within the time limit, the request for invalidation shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 71 After the Patent Administration Department of the State Council accepts a request for invalidation, the applicant may add reasons or supplement evidence within one month from the date of filing the request for invalidation. If reasons or supplement evidence are added after the deadline, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council may not consider it.

Article 72 The patent administration department of the State Council shall send the request for declaration of invalidity of a patent right and copies of relevant documents to the patent owner, requiring him to state his opinions within a specified time limit.

Patent owners and applicants for invalidation shall reply to the document transfer notice or invalidation request examination notice issued by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within the specified time limit; failure to reply within the time limit shall not affect the review by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council.

Article 73 During the examination of a request for invalidation, the patentee of an invention or utility model patent may amend its claims, but may not expand the scope of protection of the original patent. If the patent administration department of the State Council makes a decision to maintain the validity of the patent right or to declare the patent right partially invalid based on the amended claims, it shall announce the amended claims.

The patent owner of an invention or utility model patent shall not modify the patent specification and drawings; the patent owner of a design patent shall not modify the pictures, photographs and brief description.

Article 74 The Patent Administration Department of the State Council may decide to conduct an oral hearing on the request for invalidation based on the request of the parties or the needs of the case.

If the patent administration department of the State Council decides to conduct an oral hearing on a request for invalidation, it shall issue a notice of oral hearing to the parties concerned, informing them of the date and place of the oral hearing. The parties concerned shall make a reply within the time limit specified in the notice.

If the applicant for invalidation fails to respond to the oral hearing notice issued by the patent administration department of the State Council within the specified time limit and does not participate in the oral hearing, his request for invalidation shall be deemed withdrawn; if the patent owner does not participate in the oral hearing, the hearing may be held in absentia.

Article 75 During the procedure for examining a request for invalidation, the time limit specified by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall not be extended.

Article 76 Before the Patent Administration Department of the State Council makes a decision on the request for invalidation, the applicant for invalidation may withdraw his request.

If the invalidation requester withdraws his request or his invalidation request is deemed to be withdrawn before the State Council Patent Administration Department makes a decision, the invalidation request examination procedure shall be terminated. However, if the State Council Patent Administration Department believes that it can make a decision to declare the patent right invalid or partially invalid based on the examination work that has been conducted, the examination procedure shall not be terminated.

Chapter V Patent Term Compensation

Article 77 If a patent right holder requests compensation for the patent term in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law, he shall submit the request to the patent administrative department of the State Council within three months from the date of announcement of the grant of the patent right.

Article 78 Where compensation for the patent right term is granted in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law, the compensation period shall be calculated based on the actual number of days of unreasonable delay in the authorization process of the invention patent.

The actual number of days of unreasonable delay in the authorization process of invention patents referred to in the preceding paragraph means the number of days from the date when four years have passed since the application of the invention patent and three years have passed since the request for substantive examination to the date of announcement of the grant of the patent right, minus the number of days of reasonable delay and the number of days of unreasonable delay caused by the applicant.

The following situations constitute reasonable delays:

(a) where a patent right is granted after the patent application documents are amended in accordance with Article 66 of these Rules, delay caused by the reexamination procedure;

(2) Delay caused by the circumstances specified in Articles 103 and 104 of these Rules;

(3) Delay caused by other reasonable circumstances.

If the same applicant applies for both a utility model patent and an invention patent for the same invention-creation on the same day and obtains the invention patent right in accordance with the provisions of Article 47, paragraph 4 of these Rules, the term of the invention patent right shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 42, paragraph 2 of the Patent Law.

Article 79 The unreasonable delay caused by the applicant as provided for in the second paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law includes the following circumstances:

(1) failing to respond to a notice issued by the patent administration department of the State Council within the specified time limit;

(2) Application for delayed examination;

(iii) Delay caused by circumstances specified in Article 45 of these Rules;

(iv) Other unreasonable delays caused by the applicant.

Article 80 The new drug-related invention patents referred to in the third paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law refer to new drug product patents, preparation method patents, and medical use patents that comply with the regulations.

Article 81: Where a request for compensation for the term of patent right for a new drug-related invention is made in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law, the request shall meet the following requirements and be made to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within three months from the date on which the new drug obtains marketing authorization in China:

(1) If the new drug is covered by multiple patents, the patentee can only request patent term compensation for one of the patents;

(ii) Where a patent involves multiple new drugs at the same time, a request for compensation of the patent term can only be made for one new drug;

(3) The patent is within its validity period and has not received any compensation for the patent term for new drug-related inventions.

Article 82 Where compensation for the term of patent right is granted in accordance with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law, the compensation period shall be determined on the basis of compliance with the provisions of the third paragraph of Article 42 of the Patent Law, based on the number of days between the date of application of the patent and the date on which the new drug obtains marketing authorization in China minus 5 years.

Article 83 During the period of compensation for the patent term for a new drug-related invention patent, the scope of protection of the patent shall be limited to the new drug and its approved technical solutions related to its indications; within the scope of protection, the rights enjoyed and the obligations assumed by the patent owner shall be the same as before the compensation for the patent term.

Article 84 After examining a request for patent term compensation filed in accordance with the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of Article 42 of the Patent Law, the patent administration department of the State Council shall make a decision to grant term compensation if it deems that the conditions for compensation are met, and shall register and announce the decision; if the conditions for compensation are not met, a decision not to grant term compensation shall be made, and the patent right holder who filed the request shall be notified.

Chapter VI Special License for Patent Implementation

Article 85 Where a patent owner voluntarily declares that his patent shall be subject to open licensing, the declaration shall be made after the announcement of the grant of the patent right.

The open license statement shall state the following:

(1) Patent number;

(2) the name of the patent owner;

(3) the method and standard of payment of patent license royalties;

(iv) Patent license term;

(V) Other matters that need to be clarified.

The content of the open license statement should be accurate and clear, and should not contain any commercial promotional terms.

Article 86 Where a patent right is subject to any of the following circumstances, the patent owner shall not implement an open license for it:

(1) The patent right is within the validity period of the exclusive or exclusive license;

(2) The circumstances for suspension are as provided for in Articles 103 and 104 of these Rules;

(3) Failure to pay annual fees in accordance with regulations;

(iv) the patent right is pledged without the consent of the pledgee;

(V) Other circumstances that hinder the effective enforcement of patent rights.

Article 87 Where a patent implementation license is reached through an open license, the patent owner or licensee shall file a record with the patent administration department of the State Council with written documents that can prove that the license has been reached.

Article 88 A patent owner shall not make an open licensing declaration or obtain exemption of annual patent fees during the implementation period of an open license by providing false materials, concealing facts, etc.

Article 89 The term "failure to fully implement a patent" as stated in Item (1) of Article 53 of the Patent Law means that the manner or scale in which the patent owner and its licensees implement their patents cannot meet domestic demand for the patented product or patented method.

The patented drugs referred to in Article 55 of the Patent Law refer to any patented product in the field of medicine required to solve public health problems or products directly obtained by patented methods, including the patented active ingredients required to manufacture the product and the diagnostic supplies required to use the product.

Article 90: A request for compulsory license shall be submitted to the patent administration department of the State Council, stating the reasons and attaching relevant supporting documents.

The Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall send a copy of the request for compulsory license to the patent owner, and the patent owner shall state his or her opinions within the time limit specified by the Patent Administration Department of the State Council; failure to respond within the time limit shall not affect the decision of the Patent Administration Department of the State Council.

Before making a decision to reject a request for compulsory licensing or to grant compulsory licensing, the patent administration department of the State Council shall notify the applicant and the patent owner of the proposed decision and the reasons for it.

The decision made by the patent administration department of the State Council to grant compulsory licensing in accordance with Article 55 of the Patent Law shall also comply with the provisions of relevant international treaties concluded or acceded to by China on the granting of compulsory licensing for the purpose of resolving public health issues, except for any reservations made by China.

Article 91 Where a party requests the Patent Administration Department of the State Council to rule on the amount of royalties in accordance with Article 62 of the Patent Law, the party shall submit a written request for ruling and attach documentary evidence that the two parties cannot reach an agreement. The Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall make a ruling within three months from the date of receipt of the written request and notify the party.

Chapter VII Rewards and Remuneration for Inventors or Designers of Service-Related Inventions and Creations

Article 92: The unit that is granted the patent right may agree with the inventor or designer or stipulate in its legally formulated rules and regulations the method and amount of the reward and remuneration stipulated in Article 15 of the Patent Law. The unit that is granted the patent right is encouraged to implement property rights incentives and adopt equity, options, dividends and other methods to enable the inventor or designer to reasonably share the benefits of innovation.

The rewards and remuneration given by enterprises and institutions to inventors or designers shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State's financial and accounting systems.

Article 93 If the unit granted the patent right has not agreed with the inventor or designer and has not stipulated in its legally formulated rules and regulations the form and amount of the reward prescribed in Article 15 of the Patent Law, it shall issue a bonus to the inventor or designer within 3 months from the date of announcement of the grant of the patent right. The minimum bonus for an invention patent shall not be less than RMB 4,000; the minimum bonus for a utility model patent or design patent shall not be less than RMB 1,500.

For inventions and creations that are completed because the inventor's or designer's suggestions are adopted by his or her unit, the unit that is granted the patent right should give preferential bonuses.

Article 94 If the entity granted the patent right has not agreed with the inventor or designer and has not stipulated in its legally formulated rules and regulations the form and amount of remuneration prescribed in Article 15 of the Patent Law, it shall give the inventor or designer reasonable remuneration in accordance with the provisions of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Promoting the Transformation of Scientific and Technological Achievements.

Chapter VIII Protection of Patent Rights

Article 95: The patent management departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, as well as the patent management departments of the people's governments of prefecture-level cities, autonomous prefectures, leagues, regions, and districts of municipalities directly under the Central Government that have a large workload of patent management and actual handling capabilities, may handle and mediate patent disputes.

Article 96 Any of the following circumstances shall be deemed a patent infringement dispute with major national impact as referred to in Article 70 of the Patent Law:

(1) involving major public interests;

(2) Having a significant impact on the development of the industry;

(3) Major cases that cross provinces, autonomous regions, or municipalities directly under the Central Government;

(iv) other circumstances that the Patent Administration Department of the State Council considers may have a significant impact.

If a patent owner or an interested party requests the patent administration department of the State Council to handle a patent infringement dispute, and the relevant case does not belong to a patent infringement dispute with major impact in the whole country, the patent administration department of the State Council may designate the department of patent management of the local people's government with jurisdiction to handle it.

Article 97 Where a party requests the handling of a patent infringement dispute or the mediation of a patent dispute, the department in charge of patent affairs at the place where the respondent is located or the place where the infringement occurred shall have jurisdiction.

In case of a patent dispute over which more than two administrative departments for patents have jurisdiction, the parties may submit a request to one of the administrative departments for patents; if a party submits a request to more than two administrative departments for patents that have jurisdiction, the administrative department for patents that first accepts the request shall have jurisdiction.

If any dispute arises between departments in charge of patent affairs over jurisdiction, the department in charge of patent affairs of their common superior people's government shall designate the jurisdiction; if there is no department in charge of patent affairs of their common superior people's government, the patent administrative department of the State Council shall designate the jurisdiction.

Article 98 If , during the process of handling a patent infringement dispute, the respondent files a request for invalidation and the request is accepted by the patent administration department of the State Council, the respondent may request the department in charge of patent affairs to suspend the handling of the case.

If the department in charge of patent affairs believes that the reasons for suspension put forward by the respondent are obviously untenable, it may not suspend the processing.

Article 99 Where a patent owner, in accordance with Article 16 of the Patent Law, marks patent symbols on his patented product or on the packaging of such product, he shall do so in the manner prescribed by the patent administration department of the State Council.

If the patent mark does not comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the department responsible for patent enforcement at or above the county level shall order it to be corrected.

Article 100 If an applicant or patent owner violates the provisions of Article 11 or Article 88 of these Rules, the department responsible for patent enforcement at or above the county level shall give a warning and may impose a fine of no more than RMB 100,000.

Article 101 The following acts shall be considered as acts of patent counterfeiting as provided for in Article 68 of the Patent Law:

(1) marking patent symbols on products or their packaging that have not been granted patent rights, continuing to mark patent symbols on products or their packaging after the patent right has been declared invalid or terminated, or marking the patent number of another person on the product or its packaging without permission;

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

(3) referring to a technology or design that has not been granted a patent right as a patented technology or patented design, referring to a patent application as a patent, or using another person's patent number without permission in product manuals and other materials, causing the public to mistakenly believe that the technology or design involved is a patented technology or patented design;

(iv) Forging or altering patent certificates, patent documents or patent application documents;

(5) Any other act that may confuse the public and cause them to mistake a technology or design for which a patent right has not been granted for a patent as a patented technology or patented design.

Marking a patented product, a product directly obtained by a patented method, or its packaging in accordance with the law before the patent right expires, and promising to sell or selling the product after the patent right expires, does not constitute patent counterfeiting.

Anyone who sells a product without knowing it is a counterfeit patent and can prove the legal source of the product will be ordered to stop selling by the department responsible for patent enforcement at or above the county level.

Article 102 Except as provided for in Article 65 of the Patent Law, the administrative department for patent affairs may, at the request of the parties, mediate the following patent disputes:

(1) Disputes over patent application rights and ownership of patent rights;

(2) Disputes over the qualifications of inventors and designers;

(3) Disputes over rewards and remunerations for inventors and designers of work-related inventions and creations;

(iv) disputes involving the use of an invention after the publication of an invention patent application but before the grant of the patent right without paying appropriate fees;

(V) Other patent disputes.

For disputes listed in item (4) of the preceding paragraph, if the parties request mediation by the administrative department for patent affairs, the request should be made after the patent right is granted.

Article 103 If a party has a dispute over the right to apply for a patent or the ownership of a patent right and has requested mediation from the department in charge of patent affairs or has filed a lawsuit with the people's court, it may request the patent administration department of the State Council to suspend the relevant procedures.

Where a request is made to suspend a relevant procedure in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, a written request shall be submitted to the patent administration department of the State Council, stating the reasons and attaching a copy of the relevant acceptance document of the department in charge of patent work or the people's court indicating the application number or patent number. If the patent administration department of the State Council considers that the reasons for suspension put forward by the party concerned are obviously untenable, the relevant procedure may not be suspended.

After the mediation agreement made by the administrative department for patent affairs or the judgment made by the people's court takes effect, the parties shall go through the procedures for resuming the relevant procedures with the patent administration department of the State Council. If the dispute over the patent application right or the ownership of the patent right has not been settled within one year from the date of the request for suspension, and it is necessary to continue to suspend the relevant procedures, the applicant shall request an extension of the suspension within the period. If no extension is requested at the expiration of the period, the patent administration department of the State Council shall resume the relevant procedures on its own.

Article 104 Where a people's court decides to take preservation measures against a patent application right or patent right in the trial of a civil case, the patent administration department of the State Council shall suspend the relevant procedures for the patent application right or patent right being preserved on the day it receives the decision letter and the notice of assistance in execution stating the application number or patent number. If the preservation period expires and the people's court does not decide to continue to take preservation measures, the patent administration department of the State Council shall resume the relevant procedures on its own initiative.

Article 105 The suspension of relevant procedures by the patent administration department of the State Council in accordance with the provisions of Articles 103 and 104 of these Rules means the suspension of preliminary examination, substantive examination, reexamination procedures of patent applications, procedures for granting patent rights and procedures for declaring patent rights invalid; the suspension of procedures for abandonment, change, transfer of patent rights or patent application rights, procedures for pledging patent rights and termination procedures before the expiration of the patent term.

Chapter 9 Patent Registration and Patent Gazette

Article 106 The patent administration department under the State Council shall set up a patent registration book to record the following matters related to patent applications and patent rights:

(1) Granting of patent rights;

(2) Transfer of patent application rights and patent rights;

(3) Pledge, preservation and release of patent rights;

(iv) filing of patent licensing contracts;

(5) Decryption of national defense patents and confidential patents;

(6) declaration of invalidity of patent rights;

(7) Termination of patent rights;

(8) restoration of patent rights;

(9) Compensation for the term of patent right;

(10) open licensing for patent implementation;

(11) compulsory license for patent exploitation;

(12) Any change in the name, nationality or address of the patent owner.

Article 107 The patent administration department of the State Council shall publish the Patent Gazette regularly and announce or publicize the following contents:

(1) the bibliographical details and abstract of the invention patent application;

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

(3) rejection, withdrawal, deemed withdrawal, deemed abandonment, restoration and transfer of invention patent applications after publication;

(iv) the grant of patent rights and the matters concerning the recording of patent rights;

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

(6) Decryption of national defense patents and confidential patents;

(VII) declaration of invalidity of patent rights;

(8) Termination and restoration of patent rights;

(9) Compensation for the term of patent right;

(10) Transfer of patent rights;

(XI) Recording of patent licensing contracts;

(12) Pledge, preservation and release of patent rights;

(13) Open licensing matters regarding patent implementation;

(14) the granting of compulsory licenses for the exploitation of patents;

(15) any change in the name, nationality and address of the patentee;

(16) Service of documents by public announcement;

(17) Corrections made by the patent administration department of the State Council;

(18) Other relevant matters.

Article 108 The patent administrative department of the State Council shall provide the Patent Gazette, separate copies of invention patent applications, and separate copies of invention patents, utility model patents and design patents for free consultation by the public.

Article 109 The patent administrative department of the State Council is responsible for exchanging patent documents with patent authorities or regional patent organizations of other countries or regions on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

Chapter 10 Fees

Article 110 When applying for a patent or going through other formalities with the patent administration department of 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 invention patent applications;

(3) Annual fee;

(iv) Fees for requesting restoration of rights or extension of time limit;

(V) Fees for changes in bibliographic matters, fees for requesting patent right evaluation reports, fees for requesting invalidation, and fees for certification of copies of patent documents.

The payment standards for the various fees listed in the preceding paragraph shall be determined by the development and reform department and the finance department of the State Council in conjunction with the patent administration department of the State Council in accordance with the division of responsibilities. The finance department and the development and reform department of the State Council may, in conjunction with the patent administration department of the State Council, adjust the types and standards of fees payable for patent applications and other formalities based on actual conditions.

Article 111 All fees prescribed by the Patent Law and these Rules shall be paid strictly in accordance with the provisions.

If the fees are paid directly to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, the payment date shall be the day of payment; if the fees are paid by postal remittance, the payment date shall be the date of the postmark on the postal remittance; if the fees are paid by bank remittance, the payment date shall be the date of actual bank remittance.

If a patent fee is overpaid, paid twice or paid incorrectly, the party concerned may request a refund from the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within 3 years from the date of payment, and the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall refund the fee.

Article 112 An applicant shall pay the application fee, publication and printing fee and necessary application surcharge within two months from the date of application or within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice of acceptance. If the payment is not made or is not paid in full within the deadline, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

If the applicant requests priority, he or she shall pay the priority claiming fee at the same time as paying the application fee; if the fee is not paid or paid in full by the deadline, it shall be deemed that the priority is not requested.

Article 113 Where a party requests substantive examination or reexamination, the party shall pay the fees within the relevant time limit prescribed by the Patent Law and these Rules; if the fees are not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.

Article 114 When an applicant goes through the registration procedures, he or she shall pay the annual fee for the year in which the patent right is granted; if the fee is not paid or not paid in full by the deadline, it shall be deemed that the registration procedures have not been completed.

Article 115: Annual fees for the year after the grant of patent rights shall be paid before the expiration of the previous year. If the patentee fails to pay or fails to pay in full, the patent administration department of the State Council shall notify the patentee to make up the payment within 6 months from the expiration date of the annual fees due, and pay late payment fees at the same time; the amount of late payment fees shall be calculated by adding 5% of the full annual fee for that year for each month beyond the prescribed payment time; if the annual fees are not paid by the expiration date, the patent right shall terminate from the expiration date of the annual fees due.

Article 116 The fee for requesting restoration of rights shall be paid within the relevant time limit prescribed in these Rules; if it is not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, it shall be deemed that no request has been made.

The fee for requesting an extension of time shall be paid before the expiration of the corresponding period; if it is not paid or not paid in full by the deadline, it shall be deemed that the request has not been made.

The fee for changes in bibliographic matters, the fee for requesting a patent evaluation report, and the fee for requesting an invalidation declaration shall be paid within one month from the date of filing the request; if not paid or not paid in full by the deadline, the request shall be deemed not to have been filed.

Article 117 If an applicant or patentee has difficulty paying the various fees prescribed in these Rules, he or she may, in accordance with the provisions, submit a request for reduction of payment to the patent administration department of the State Council. The method of reduction of payment shall be formulated by the financial department of the State Council in conjunction with the development and reform department of the State Council and the patent administration department of the State Council.

Chapter 11 Special Provisions on International Applications for Inventions and Utility Models

Article 118 The patent administrative department of the State Council shall accept international patent applications filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty in accordance with Article 19 of the Patent Law.

The conditions and procedures for an international patent application filed in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty and designating China (hereinafter referred to as the international application) to enter the stage of processing by the patent administration department of the State Council (hereinafter referred to as entering the Chinese national stage) shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter. Where not provided for in this Chapter, the relevant provisions of other chapters of the Patent Law and these Rules shall apply.

Article 119 An international application that has an international filing date determined in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty and designates China 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 120 The applicant of an international application shall, within 30 months from the priority date referred to in Article 2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (referred to as the priority date in this Chapter), go through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase with the patent administration department of the State Council; if the applicant fails to go through such formalities within the said time limit, he or she may, after paying the grace period fee, go through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase within 32 months from the priority date.

Article 121 Where an applicant goes through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase in accordance with Article 120 of these Rules, the applicant shall meet the following requirements:

(a) A written statement of entry into the Chinese national phase in Chinese, indicating the international application number and the type of patent right sought;

(ii) paying the application fee and publication and printing fee prescribed in the first paragraph of Article 110 of these Rules and, if necessary, the grace period fee prescribed in Article 120 of these Rules;

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

(iv) In the written declaration of entry into the Chinese national phase, the title of the invention, the name or name and address of the applicant and the name of the inventor shall be stated. The above contents 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 stated in the international application, the name of the inventor shall be stated in the above declaration;

(V) Where the international application is filed in a foreign language, a Chinese translation of the abstract shall be submitted. If there are drawings and abstract drawings, copies of the drawings shall be submitted and the abstract drawing shall be designated. If there are words in the drawings, they shall be replaced with the corresponding Chinese words;

(vi) where the applicant change procedures have been completed with the International Bureau during the international phase, documentation proving that the changed applicant has the right to apply may be provided, if necessary;

(VII) If necessary, pay the additional application fee prescribed in the first paragraph of Article 110 of these Rules.

If the requirements of Items (a) to (c) of the first paragraph of this Article are met, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall assign an application number, specify the date on which the international application enters the Chinese national phase (hereinafter referred to as the entry date), and notify the applicant that his international application has entered the Chinese national phase.

Where an international application has entered the Chinese national phase but does not comply with the requirements of Items (iv) to (vii) of the first paragraph of this Article, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within the specified time limit; if the corrections are not made within the time limit, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

Article 122 If an international application is subject to any of the following circumstances, its effect in China shall cease:

(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;

(ii) the applicant fails to go through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase in accordance with Article 120 of these Rules within 32 months from the priority date;

(iii) The applicant has gone through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase but still fails to meet the requirements of Items (1) to (3) of Article 121 of these Rules within the time limit of 32 months from the priority date.

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

Article 123 Where an international application has been amended during the international phase, and the applicant requests examination based on the amended application documents, the applicant shall submit a Chinese translation of the amended part within two months from the entry date. If the Chinese translation is not submitted within this period, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council will not consider the amendments submitted by the applicant during the international phase.

Article 124 Where the invention-creation involved in the international application falls under any of the circumstances listed in Article 24, paragraph (2) or (3) of the Patent Law, and a declaration has been made when filing the international application, the applicant shall state this in the written statement of entering the Chinese national phase and submit the relevant supporting documents specified in the third paragraph of Article 33 of these Rules within two months from the date of entry; if no declaration is made or the supporting documents are not submitted within the time limit, the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to the application.

Article 125 Where the applicant has made a statement on the deposit of biological material samples in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, it shall be deemed that the requirements of Article 27(3) of these Rules have been met. The applicant shall specify the document recording the deposit of biological material samples and the specific location of the record in the document in the declaration of entering the Chinese national phase.

If the applicant has recorded the deposit of biological material samples in the description of the originally submitted international application, but did not specify it in the declaration of entering the Chinese national phase, it should make corrections within 4 months from the date of entry. If the corrections are not made within the deadline, the biological material will be deemed not to have been submitted for deposit.

If an applicant submits a biological material sample deposit certificate and a survival certificate to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within four months from the date of entry, it shall be deemed to have been submitted within the time limit prescribed in Article 27(1) of these Rules.

Article 126 Where an international application involves inventions or creations that rely on genetic resources, the applicant shall indicate this in the written statement when the international application enters the Chinese national phase and fill in the form drawn up by the patent administration department of the State Council.

Article 127 Where an applicant has claimed one or more priorities in the international phase and such priority claim continues to be valid when entering the Chinese national phase, it shall be deemed that a written declaration has been made in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law.

The applicant shall pay the priority claim fee within two months from the date of entry; if the fee is not paid or not paid in full within the deadline, it shall be deemed that the priority is not claimed.

If the applicant has submitted a copy of the prior application document in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty during the international phase, it is not necessary to submit a copy of the prior application document to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council when going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase. If the applicant fails to submit a copy of the prior application document during the international phase, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council may notify the applicant to submit a supplementary copy within a specified period if it deems it necessary; if the applicant fails to submit a supplementary copy within the specified period, his or her priority claim shall be deemed not to have been made.

Article 128 Where the filing date of an international application is within two months after the expiration of the priority period, and the receiving Office has approved the restoration of the right of priority during the international phase, the applicant shall be deemed to have filed a request for restoration of the right of priority in accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of these Rules; where the applicant has not requested restoration of the right of priority during the international phase, or has filed a request for restoration of the right of priority but the receiving Office has not approved it, the applicant may, if there are legitimate grounds, request restoration of the right of priority to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within two months from the date of entry.

Article 129 Where an applicant requests the Patent Administration Department of the State Council to process and examine an international application in advance before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date, the applicant shall, in addition to completing the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, also submit a request in accordance with the provisions of Article 23, paragraph 2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. If the International Bureau has not yet transmitted the international application to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council, the applicant shall submit a confirmed copy of the international application.

Article 130: For an international application seeking a utility model patent, the applicant may, on his own initiative, propose amendments to the patent application documents within two months from the date of entry.

International applications seeking invention patents shall be subject to the provisions of Article 57, paragraph 1 of these Rules.

Article 131 If an applicant discovers that there are errors in the Chinese translation of the text in the submitted description, claims or drawings, he may submit a correction based on the original international application within the following prescribed time limit:

(1) before the patent administration department of the State Council has completed preparations for publishing an invention patent application or announcing a utility model patent right;

(2) within three months from the date of receipt of the notification issued by the patent administration department of the State Council that the invention patent application has entered the substantive examination stage.

If the applicant wishes to correct errors in the translation, he or she shall submit a written request and pay the prescribed translation correction fee.

If the applicant corrects the translation in accordance with the requirements of the notification of the patent administration department of the State Council, he shall complete the procedures prescribed in the second paragraph of this Article within the specified time limit; if the prescribed procedures are not completed within the time limit, the application shall be deemed withdrawn.

Article 132: If the patent administration department of the State Council considers, after preliminary examination, that an international application for invention patents complies with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall publish it in the Patent Gazette; if the international application is filed in a language other than Chinese, a 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 from the date of international publication or the date of publication by the patent administration department of the State Council; where an international application is published internationally in a language other than Chinese by the International Bureau, the provisions of Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply from the date of publication by the patent administration department of the State Council.

For international applications, the publication referred to in Articles 21 and 22 of the Patent Law means the publication provided for in the first paragraph of this Article.

Article 133 Where an international application contains two or more inventions or utility models, the applicant may, from the date of entry, file divisional applications in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 48 of these Rules.

In the international phase, if the international search unit or international preliminary examination unit believes that the international application does not meet the unity requirements stipulated in the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the applicant fails to pay the additional fees as required, resulting in certain parts of the international application not being searched or examined internationally, when entering the Chinese national phase, the applicant requests that the said parts be used as the basis for examination. If the patent administration department of the State Council believes that the judgment of the international search unit or international preliminary examination unit on the unity of the invention is correct, it shall notify the applicant to pay the unity restoration fee within the specified time limit. If the fee is not paid or is not paid in full by the deadline, the part of the international application that has not been searched or examined internationally shall be deemed withdrawn.

Article 134 If an international application is refused an international filing date or is declared to be deemed withdrawn by the relevant international authority during the international stage, the applicant may, within two months from the date of receipt of the notification, request the International Bureau to transfer a copy of any document in the international application file to the Patent Administration Department of the State Council and go through the procedures prescribed in Article 120 of these Rules with the Patent Administration Department of the State Council within the same period. After receiving the documents transmitted by the International Bureau, the Patent Administration Department of the State Council shall review whether the decision made by the international authority is correct.

Article 135 If, due to an error in translation, the scope of protection determined in accordance with Article 64 of the Patent Law for a patent right granted based on an international application exceeds the scope expressed in the original text of the international application, the scope of protection after restriction based on the original text shall prevail; if the scope of protection is smaller than the scope expressed in the original text of the international application, the scope of protection at the time of authorization shall prevail.

Chapter 12 Special Provisions on International Design Applications

Article 136 The patent administration department of the State Council shall handle applications for international registration of industrial designs filed in accordance with the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs (1999 Act) (hereinafter referred to as the Hague Agreement) in accordance with the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of Article 19 of the Patent Law.

The conditions and procedures for the patent administration department of the State Council to handle international design registration applications filed in accordance with the Hague Agreement and designating China (hereinafter referred to as international design applications) shall be subject to the provisions of this Chapter. If not provided for in this Chapter, the relevant provisions of other chapters of the Patent Law and these Rules shall apply.

Article 137 An international design application that has an international registration date determined in accordance with the Hague Agreement and designates China shall be deemed to be an application for a design patent filed with the patent administration department under the State Council, and the international registration date shall be deemed to be the application date referred to in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

Article 138 After the International Bureau publishes an international design application, the patent administration department of the State Council shall examine the international design application and notify the International Bureau of the examination results.

Article 139 Where an international design application published by the International Bureau includes one or more priorities, it shall be deemed that a written declaration has been made in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law.

If the applicant of an international design application claims priority, he or she shall submit a copy of the earlier application document within three months from the date of publication of the international design application.

Article 140 Where the design involved in an international design application falls under any of the circumstances listed in Article 24, paragraph (2) or (3) of the Patent Law, a declaration shall be made when the international design application is filed, and the relevant supporting documents prescribed in the third paragraph of Article 33 of these Rules shall be submitted within two months from the date of publication of the international design application.

Article 141 Where an international design application includes two or more designs, the applicant may, within two months from the date of publication of the international design application, submit a divisional application to the patent administration department of the State Council and pay fees.

Article 142 Where an international design application published by the International Bureau includes a description containing essential features of the design, a brief description shall be deemed to have been submitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 31 of these Rules.

Article 143 If the patent administration department of the State Council finds no grounds for rejection after examination of an international design application, the patent administration department of the State Council shall make a decision to grant protection and notify the International Bureau.

After the patent administration department of the State Council makes a decision to grant protection, it will announce it, and the patent right for the design will take effect from the date of the announcement.

Article 144 If the applicant has completed the procedures for changing rights at the International Bureau, he or she shall provide relevant supporting documents to the patent administration department of the State Council.

Chapter 13 Supplementary Provisions

Article 145: With the consent of the patent administration department of the State Council, any person may review or copy the files and patent registration books of patent applications that have been published or announced, and may request the patent administration department of the State Council to issue a copy of the patent registration book.

The files of patent applications that have been deemed withdrawn, rejected or voluntarily withdrawn will not be kept after two years from the date when the patent application expires.

Files of patents that have been abandoned, declared completely invalid, or terminated will not be kept after three years from the date of expiration of the patent.

Article 146 When submitting application documents or going through various procedures with the patent administration department of the State Council, the documents shall be signed or sealed by the applicant, patent owner, other interested parties or their representatives; if a patent agency is entrusted, the patent agency shall affix its seal.

If a request is made to change the name of the inventor, the name or title, nationality and address of the patent applicant and patent owner, the name and address of the patent agency and the name of the patent agent, the procedures for changing the recorded matters shall be handled with the patent administrative department of the State Council, and documentary evidence of the reasons for the change shall be submitted when necessary.

Article 147: Documents concerning applications or patent rights sent to the patent administration department of the State Council must be sent by registered mail and not by parcel.

Except for the first submission of patent application documents, when submitting various documents and going through various procedures with the patent administration department of the State Council, the application number or patent number, the name of the invention and the name or name of the applicant or patent owner shall be indicated.

A single letter should only contain documents relating to the same application.

Article 148 The patent administrative department of the State Council shall formulate patent examination guidelines in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules.

Article 149 These Rules shall come into force on July 1, 2001. The Implementing Rules of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, as revised with the approval of the State Council on December 12, 1992 and promulgated by the Patent Office of China on December 21, 1992, shall be repealed simultaneously.

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"Implementing Rules for the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China"

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Patent Application

Chapter III Examination and Approval of Patent Application

Chapter IV Review of Patent Application and Invalidation of Patent Right

Chapter V Patent Term Compensation

Chapter VI Special License for Patent Implementation

Chapter VII Rewards and Remuneration for Inventors or Designers of Service-Related Inventions and Creations

Chapter VIII Protection of Patent Rights

Chapter 9 Patent Registration and Patent Gazette

Chapter 10 Fees

Chapter 11 Special Provisions on International Applications for Inventions and Utility Models

Chapter 12 Special Provisions on International Design Applications

Chapter 13 Supplementary Provisions

Language

Chapter I General Provisions

Chapter II Patent Application

Chapter III Examination and Approval of Patent Application

Chapter IV Review of Patent Application and Invalidation of Patent Right

Chapter V Patent Term Compensation

Chapter VI Special License for Patent Implementation

Chapter VII Rewards and Remuneration for Inventors or Designers of Service-Related Inventions and Creations

Chapter VIII Protection of Patent Rights

Chapter 9 Patent Registration and Patent Gazette

Chapter 10 Fees

Chapter 11 Special Provisions on International Applications for Inventions and Utility Models

Chapter 12 Special Provisions on International Design Applications

Chapter 13 Supplementary Provisions