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Not only a domestic developer, but also a foreign individual or enterprise can obtain a patent in the PRC. Moreover, registration of a patent in China is allowed under the rules of international conventions and treaties, which greatly simplifies the procedure of securing rights. If you need to get a patent or trademark certificate in China, you should use our services. We will represent your interests at all stages of registration - from registration of the application to settlement of disputes and objections.

Patenting options in China

Like other countries, China has its own patent office. The consolidation of industrial and commercial property rights passes through the Intellectual Property Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. Applying for a national application will only allow legal protection within the country's borders, and the list of requirements for registration includes:

• The application must be made in Chinese immediately upon application;
• Foreign developers should deal with the registration only through patent attorneys accredited by the Intellectual Property Office;
• The composition of documents in the national application meets all international standards - for example, to register inventions, one must submit an application, a claim and its description, and an abstract.

China is a party to all international conventions and agreements in the field of copyright and patent law. Moreover, China is a member of the WTO (World Trade Organization), which imposes special requirements for the content of national legislation.

Participation of the country in international conventions and treaties gives an opportunity to patent the development in China under the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) system. Let's highlight the key advantages of this method of patenting:

• a developer residing or registered in any foreign country that is a signatory to the Treaty can take advantage of registration under the PCT system;
• when submitting documents, the application can indicate an unlimited number of countries-participants of the Treaty, in which the patent will be valid;
• application can be filed not only through the Office of Intellectual Property, but also through the national office of any country party to the PCT Treaty.

With this patenting option, the developer will be automatically granted legal protection not only in the PRC, but also in other states of his choice. In this case, the translation of the PCT application into national languages will be required only at the examination and patent granting stage.

How to apply

The rules for applying for a patent in China are in accordance with generally accepted norms. The developer or his representative must submit:

• a statement indicating the personal or registration data of the developer, information about the representative, the list of states for obtaining a patent under the PCT;
• the claims of the invention or utility model - for patenting industrial designs it is necessary to submit not the claims, but a set of images of the appearance of the product;
• a description of the claims, with a statement of the criteria for patentability of the object of industrial property;
• abstract, graphic materials (for industrial designs).

It should be taken into account that after filing the application, it will be impossible to make corrections to the claims or individual claims. Therefore, even before filing an application with the patent offices, it is necessary to make sure that registration of the technology will not entail rights of other persons and that information on a similar development is not already contained in the registry. For this purpose, you may order and carry out a preliminary information search at the patent office. When you apply to our company, a preliminary search will be carried out with the use of international classifiers of inventions and other objects, which guarantees maximum reliability of the obtained data.

As a general rule, an application may be filed in writing or electronically. If the documents are sent through the website of the Intellectual Property Office of the PRC, they should be duplicated in writing before the examination stage.

Stages of patenting in China

Once an application is submitted to the patent office, the developer will receive national or conventional priority. This means that the earlier application will prevail in the examination of similar applications. The resolution of disputes arising on the legitimacy of granting priority is carried out administratively, and in case of a negative decision - through the court.

As in other legal systems, patenting procedure includes a number of compulsory examinations and activities:

• The national application will be published in the Bulletin of the Intellectual Property Office of the PRC;
• International application will be published through the official publications of WIPO (WIPO, World Intellectual Property Organization);
• The application will go through a formal examination, during which the completeness of the documents submitted and the correctness of their completion will be verified;
• In the course of substantive examination the patentability criteria will be checked, official search through the registers will be conducted, possible prohibitions and restrictions for registration of the subject matter will be revealed.

Verification of patentability criteria follows standard rules. For inventions, applicability in industrial production, novelty and inventive step must be confirmed. For a utility model, the inventive step need not be confirmed, and for industrial designs, such criteria will be the novelty and originality of essential features.

If all the examinations are positive, the decision on registration of rights to the technology or other object of industrial property will be made. Information about the right holder will be placed in registers, as well as published in the Bulletin of the Patent Office. From the moment a patent is issued, the developer acquires full legal protection for his technology in the territory of the PRC, and can dispose of the rights through transactions.

Special rules for patenting are provided for special administrative-territorial units - Hong Kong and Macao. For these territories, the patent is issued under a separate application, although the procedure for its consideration is characterized by a simplified regime.

Timing and cost

Patenting is a paid service, as at each stage of registration you have to pay mandatory fees. The amount of fees will depend on the following conditions:

• fees are paid for filing the application, for substantive examination, as well as for the final registration of the subject matter and the granting of a patent;
• the amount of fees is affected by the number of claims in an invention or other subject matter;
• for national and international patenting different size and procedure for payment of fees (for example, when filing under the PCT, the developer will pay a single fee).

Mandatory fees will also have to be paid to maintain the patent in force. This should be done from the 3rd year after registration, and untimely maintenance will lead to revocation of the patent.

The period of protection will be 20 years (for inventions), 10 years (for a utility model) and 5 years (for a design). The said regime can be extended only for industrial designs until the maximum possible period of protection expires.

What is the benefit of having a patent

Having passed the patenting procedure, and having secured the rights to the object of industrial property, the developer can not only use the technology for their own purposes. In the territory of the People's Republic of China, the general rules on the disposal of exclusive rights apply:

• rights can be sold under assignment contracts - in this case, the original patentee will not be able to use the technology for their own needs;
• For temporary transfer of rights license agreements are executed - under such transactions it is possible to determine the territory and term of use, the procedure and amount of remuneration, other conditions;
• Any transactions related to the disposal of a patent must be registered through the Intellectual Property Office of the PRC.

The patent regime allows any means of protection against infringement related to the illegal use of other people's technology. For this purpose, written demands may be sent to infringers prohibiting the unlawful use of the patented subject matter, for damages or remuneration.

If a written demand does not lead to a positive result, you can use the judicial option:

• recover damages or punitive damages;
• To terminate the license agreement prematurely with reimbursement of penalties;
• Seek confiscation of products manufactured with illegally used technology.

In case of significant violations, perpetrators will be held criminally or administratively liable.

Our Services

Due to the significant complexity of patenting in foreign countries, it is practically impossible to obtain a patent in the NRC without the help of professional specialists. Our company offers a full range of services for registration of rights to any objects of industrial property:

• consulting support in choosing the option of securing rights;
• Conducting a preliminary information search through national and international registries;
• drawing up and translation of the application into Chinese;
• support of the application at all stages of registration with the Intellectual Property Office of the PRC;
• assistance in the settlement of disputes and objections filed at the examination stage.

We will ensure fast and proper preparation of all necessary documents, protection of your interests during the process of patenting in the PRC. To clarify the terms of cooperation and use the services of our specialists, please call on the phone numbers listed on the website, or leave your questions in the feedback form.

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