Implementation Rules of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China

(Promulgated by Order No.306 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on June 15, 2001) Revised for the first time in accordance with the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China on December 28, 2002 According to the second revision of the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China on January 9, 2010, and the third revision of the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China on December 11, 2023)

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

All formalities provided in the Patent Law and these Rules shall be fulfilled in written form or in other forms provided by the administrative department for patent under the State Council. A data message (hereinafter referred to as “electronic form”) that is capable of expressing its contents in a tangible manner and is readily accessible by means of electronic data interchange or other means is deemed to be in writing.

Any document to be submitted in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules shall be in Chinese; where there is a unified scientific and technological term stipulated by the State, it shall be a standard term; where there is no unified Chinese translation of a foreign name, place name or scientific and technological term, the original text shall be indicated.

Where any certificate or certifying document submitted in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules is in a foreign language, the administrative department for patent under the State Council may, when it deems necessary, request the party concerned to submit a Chinese translation within a specified time limit; where the translation is not submitted at the expiration of the time limit, the certificate or certifying document shall be deemed to have not been submitted.

Where any document is mailed to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, the date of mailing indicated by the postmark shall be regarded as the date of submission; where the date of mailing indicated by the postmark is not clear, unless the party concerned can provide proof, the date of receipt by the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall be regarded as the date of submission.

Where any document is submitted to the patent administration department under the State Council in electronic form, the date of entry into the specific electronic system designated by the patent administration department under the State Council shall be the date of submission.

All documents of the administrative department for patent under the State Council may be served to the parties concerned by electronic form, mail, direct delivery or other means. Where a party concerned has appointed a patent agency, the documents shall be sent to the patent agency; where no patent agency has been appointed, the documents shall be sent to the contact person specified in the request.

For any document mailed by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, the 15th day from the date of dispatch shall be presumed to be the date of receipt of the document by the party concerned. If the evidence provided by the parties can prove the date of actual receipt of the documents, the date of actual receipt shall prevail.

Where a document is to be delivered directly in accordance with the provisions of the administrative department for patent under the State Council, the date of delivery shall be the date of service.

If the address of the document is not clear and cannot be mailed, it may be served to the parties by public announcement. The document shall be deemed to have been served at the expiration of one month from the date of the announcement.

Where any document is served by the administrative department for patent under the State Council in electronic form, the date of entry into the electronic system recognized by the party concerned shall be the date of service.

Any time limit provided in the Patent Law or these Rules shall not be counted from the beginning of the day, but shall be counted from the next day. Where a time limit is counted by year or by month, it shall expire on the corresponding day of the last month; if there is no corresponding day in that month, it shall expire on the last day of that month; if a time limit expires on a statutory holiday, it shall expire on the first working day following that holiday.

Where a time limit prescribed in the Patent Law or these Implementing Regulations or specified by the Patent Administration Department under the State Council is not observed by a party concerned because of force majeure, resulting in loss of his or its rights, he or it may, within two months from the date on which the impediment is removed and within two years immediately following the expiration of that time limit, request the Patent Administration Department under the State Council to restore his or its rights.

Where a time limit prescribed in the Patent Law or these Rules or specified by the administrative department for patent under the State Council is not observed by a party concerned due to other justified reasons, resulting in loss of his or its rights, he or it may, within 2 months from the date of receipt of the notification from the administrative department for patent under the State Council, request the administrative department for patent under the State Council to restore his or its rights; However, where the time limit for requesting reexamination is delayed, it may, within two months from the expiration of the time limit for requesting reexamination, request the administrative department for patent under the State Council to restore its rights.

Where a party requests restoration of its rights in accordance with Paragraph 1 or Paragraph 2 of this Article, it shall submit a request for restoration of rights, state the reasons, attach relevant supporting documents when necessary, and go through the corresponding formalities that should have been gone through before the loss of its rights. Where a party requests restoration of rights in accordance with Paragraph 2 of this Article, it shall also pay the fee for requesting restoration of rights.

A party requesting an extension of the time limit specified by the patent administration department under the State Council shall, before the expiration of the time limit, submit a request for extension to the patent administration department under the State Council, state the reasons, and go through the relevant formalities.

The provisions of Paragraph 1 and Paragraph 2 of this Article shall not be applicable to the time limit provided in Article 24, Article 29, Article 42 and Article 74 of the Patent Law.

Where a patent application involves the interests of national defense and needs to be kept confidential, it shall be accepted and examined by the national defense patent office. Where a patent application accepted by the patent administration department under the State Council involves the interests of national defense and needs to be kept confidential, it shall be transferred to the national defense patent office for examination in a timely manner. If no reason for rejection is found after examination by the national defense patent authority, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a decision to grant the national defense patent right.

Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council considers that the application for patent for invention or utility model it has accepted involves national security or vital interests other than the interests of national defence and needs to be kept confidential, it shall make a timely decision to deal with the application as a confidential patent and notify the applicant. Special procedures for the examination and reexamination of an application for a confidential patent and for the invalidation of a confidential patent right shall be prescribed by the patent administration department under the State Council.

“Invention or utility model made in China” mentioned in Article 19 of the Patent Law means an invention or utility model in which the substantial content of the technical solution is made in China.

Any entity or individual that files an application in a foreign country for a patent for an invention or utility model completed in China shall, in one of the following ways, request the Patent Administration Department under the State Council to conduct a confidential examination:

(1) Where an application for a patent is filed directly in a foreign country or an international application for a patent is filed with a relevant foreign institution, a request shall be made to the administrative department for patent under the State Council in advance, and its technical scheme shall be explained in detail;

Where, after filing an application for a patent with the patent administration department under the State Council, any person intends to file an application for a patent in a foreign country or to submit an international application for patent to a foreign institution concerned, he or it shall, before filing an application for a patent in a foreign country or submitting an international application for patent to a foreign institution concerned, make a request to the patent administration department under the State Council.

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

Where the administrative department for patent under 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 the security or vital interests of the State and needs to be kept confidential, it shall, within 2 months from the date of submission of the request, issue a notice of confidential examination to the applicant; if the circumstances are complicated, the period may be extended by 2 months.

Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council makes a request for examination in accordance with the preceding paragraph, it shall, within four months from the date of submission of the request, make a decision on whether it is necessary to keep the request confidential and notify the applicant accordingly; if the circumstances are complicated, the period may be extended by two months.

“Invention-creation that violates law” mentioned in Article 5 of the Patent Law does not include the invention-creation the exploitation of which is merely prohibited by law.

The principle of good faith shall be followed in patent application. All kinds of patent applications shall be based on real invention-creation activities and shall not be fraudulent.

Except for the circumstances provided in Articles 28 and 42 of the Patent Law, the date of filing referred to in the Patent Law means the priority date where priority is claimed.

The filing date mentioned in these Rules, unless otherwise provided, means the filing date provided in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

“a service invention-creation made by a person in execution of the tasks of the entity to which he belongs” mentioned in Article 6 of the Patent Law means:

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

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

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

“The entity to which he belongs” mentioned in Article 6 of the Patent Law may also be a temporary entity for which the person works; “material resources of the entity” mentioned in Article 6 of the Patent Law shall include the entity's money, equipment, spare parts, raw materials, or technical information and materials which are not to be disclosed to the public.

“Inventor” or “creator” as mentioned in the Patent Law means any person who has made creative contributions to the substantive features of an invention-creation. “A person who, in the course of accomplishing the invention-creation, is merely responsible for organizational work, or who provides facilities for making use of material and technical means, or who takes part in other auxiliary work, is not an inventor or designer.”.

Unless a patent right is assigned in accordance with Article 10 of the Patent Law, the party concerned shall, if the patent right is devolved due to other reasons, fulfill the formalities for the devolution of the patent right to the administrative department for patent under the State Council with relevant certified documents or legal instruments.

Any license contract for exploitation of the patent which has been concluded by the patentee with another person shall, within three months from the date of entry into force of the contract, be filed with the patent administration department under the State Council for the record.

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

Patent work shall implement the strategic plan of the Party and the state for intellectual property rights, improve the level of patent creation, application, protection, management and service in China, support comprehensive innovation and promote the construction of an innovative country.

The patent administration department under the State Council shall enhance the public service capacity of patent information, publish patent information completely, accurately and timely, provide basic patent data, and promote the open sharing and interconnection of patent-related data resources.

Anyone who applies for a patent shall submit application documents to the administrative department for patent under the State Council. The application documents shall meet the prescribed requirements.

Any applicant who appoints a patent agency for applying for a patent, or for having other patent matters to attend to before the patent administration department under the State Council, shall submit at the same time a power of attorney indicating the scope of the power entrusted.

Where there are two or more applicants and no patent agency has been entrusted, the first applicant specified in the request shall be the representative unless otherwise stated in the request.

Where a patent agency is appointed in accordance with the provisions of Article 18, paragraph 1, of the Patent Law to apply for a patent or to have other patent matters to attend to in China, the applicant or the patentee may attend to the following matters on his own:

(1) where the application claims the right of priority, a copy of the patent application document which was first filed (hereinafter referred to as the earlier application);

(2) Payment of fees;

(3) other matters prescribed by the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

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

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

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

(3) The name of the inventor or designer;

(4) Where the applicant entrusts a patent agency, the name and code of the trustee, as well as the name, qualification certificate number and telephone number of the patent agent designated by the trustee;

(5) The filing date and filing number of the earlier application and the name of the original accepting institution for which priority is claimed;

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

(7) List of application documents;

(8) List of additional documents;

(Nine) other relevant matters that need to be specified.

The description of an application for a patent for invention or utility model shall state the title of the invention or utility model as it appears in the request. The description shall include the following:

(1) technical field: indicating the technical field to which the technical solution under the request for protection belongs;

(2) background technologies: indicating the background technologies useful to the understanding, retrieval and examination of the invention or utility model; and if possible, citing the documents reflecting these background technologies;

(3) the contents of invention: indicating the technical problems to be solved for the invention or utility model and the technical solution adopted for solving the technical problems, and indicating the beneficial effects of the invention or utility model by comparison with the technology currently available;

(4) a description of the drawings: if there are drawings in the specification, a brief description of each drawing shall be made;

(5) the specific mode for carrying out the invention or utility model: indicating in detail the preferred mode contemplated by the applicant for carrying out the invention or utility model; where necessary, illustrating with examples; and comparing with the appended drawings, if any.

An applicant for a patent for invention or utility model shall present the description in accordance with the manner and order provided in the preceding paragraph, and shall indicate the heading in front of each portion of the description, unless a different manner or order would afford a more economical presentation and a more accurate understanding due to the nature of the invention or utility model.

The description of the invention or utility model shall use standard terms and be in clear wording, and shall not contain the words “such as the claims …” The stated Commercial advertising terms shall not be used in the first category of quotations.

Where an application for a patent for invention contains one or more nucleotide or amino acid sequences, the description shall contain a sequence table in conformity with the provisions of the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

The specification of an application for a patent for utility model shall include drawings showing the shape, structure, or a combination thereof, of the product sought to be protected.

The figures of the appended drawings of the invention or utility model shall be in accordance with “Figure 1, Figure 2” Sequential numbering.

Reference signs not mentioned in the text of the description of the invention or utility model shall not appear in the appended drawings. Reference signs not appearing in the appended drawings shall not appear in the text of the description. The appended drawing reference signs for the same component part in the application documents shall be consistent.

The drawings shall not contain any notes other than the necessary words.

The patent claim shall state the technical features of the invention or utility model.

Where there are several claims in the patent claim, they shall be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals.

The technical terminology used in the claims shall be consistent with that used in the description, and may contain chemical or mathematical formulae but no illustrations. Except when absolutely necessary, do not use “as described in the instructions …” Part of the “or” as shown in the figure The term “shown”.

The technical features mentioned in the claims may refer to the corresponding reference signs in the drawings of the description, and such reference signs shall follow the corresponding technical features and be placed in parentheses, so that the claims can be easily understood. Reference signs shall not be construed as limiting the claims.

The patent claim shall have an independent claim, and may also contain subordinate claims.

An independent claim shall outline the technical solution of an invention or utility model and record the technical features necessary for solving technical problems.

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

An independent claim of an invention or utility model shall contain a preamble portion and a characterizing portion, and be presented in the following form:

(1) the preamble portion: indicating the subject title of the technical solution to the invention or utility model which is claimed to be protected and those essential technical features that are common to the subject of the invention or utility model and the closest technology currently available;

(II) Characteristic part: use “characterized by” Or in similar terms, stating the technical features of the invention or utility model, which distinguish it from the closest technology currently available. These features, in combination with the features indicated in the preamble portion, serve to define the scope of protection of the invention or utility model.

An independent claim may be presented in any other form if the nature of the invention or utility model is not suitable to be expressed in the form mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

Each invention or utility model shall have only one independent claim, which shall precede all the subordinate claims of the same invention or utility model.

A subordinate claim of an invention or utility model shall contain a quoting portion and a characterizing portion, and be presented in the following form:

(1) a reference portion: indicating the serial number (s) of the claim (s) referred to and the title of the subject matter;

(2) a characterizing portion: stating the additional technical features of the invention or utility model.

A dependent claim refers only to the preceding claim. A multiple dependent claim, which refers to two or more claims, shall refer to the preceding claim in the alternative only, and shall not serve as a basis for another multiple dependent claim.

The abstract of the specification shall indicate the outline of the contents made public by the application for a patent for invention or utility model, that is, to indicate the title of the invention or utility model and the field of technology to which it belongs, and shall clearly reflect the technical problem to be solved, the essentials and main uses of the technical solution to this problem.

The abstract of the specification may contain the chemical formula which best characterizes the invention. For an application for a patent which contains drawings, the appended drawing of the specification which best characterizes the invention or utility model shall be designated in the request as the appended drawing of the abstract. Commercial advertising terms shall not be used in the abstract.

Where an invention for which a patent is applied for involves a new biomaterial which is not available to the public, and the specification on this biomaterial is not enough to make the technicians who belong to this field to exploit the invention, the applicant shall, in addition to complying with the relevant provisions in the Patent Law and these Rules, fulfill the following formalities:

(1) depositing a sample of the biological material with a depository institution designated by the patent administration department under the State Council before, or at the latest, on the date of filing (or the priority date where priority is claimed), and submit at the time of filing, or at the latest, within four months from the filing date, a receipt of deposit and the viability proof from the depository institution; where they are not submitted at the expiry of the time limit, the sample shall be deemed not to have been deposited;

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

(3) indicating, where the application relates to the deposit of the sample of the biological material, in the request and the description the scientific name (with its Latin name) of the biological material, the name and address of the depository institution, the date on which the sample of the biological material was deposited and the accession number of the deposit; where, at the time of filing, they are not indicated, they shall be rectified within four months from the date of filing; where they are not rectified at the expiry of the time limit, the deposit shall be deemed not to have been made.

Where the applicant for a patent for invention has deposited a sample of the biological material in accordance with the provisions of Rule 27 of these Implementing Regulations, and after the application for a patent for invention is published, any entity or individual that intends to make use of the biological material to which the application relates, for the purpose of experiment, shall make a request to the Patent Administration Department under the State Council containing the following:

(1) The name and address of the petitioner;

An undertaking not to make the biological material available to any other person;

(3) an undertaking to use the instrument for experimental purposes only before the grant of the patent right.

“Article 29” Genetic resources “as mentioned in the Patent Law means the materials containing units of genetic function such as human bodies, animals, plants or microorganisms, which are of actual or potential value, and the genetic information derived from the utilization of such materials;” invention-creation made on the basis of genetic resources “as mentioned in the Patent Law means an invention-creation made by making use of the genetic functions of genetic resources.”.

Where an application for a patent is filed for an invention-creation made by relying on genetic resources, the applicant shall explain it in the request and fill in the form formulated by the patent administration department under the State Council.

The applicant shall submit relevant drawings or photographs of the contents of each design product that needs to be protected.

Where an application for a patent for partial design is filed, a view of the product as a whole shall be submitted, and the contents of the part to be protected shall be indicated by a combination of dotted lines and solid lines or by other means.

Where an applicant requests the protection of colors, he shall submit color pictures or photographs.

The brief explanation of the design shall indicate the name and use of the design product and the main points of the design, and designate a drawing or photograph that best shows the main points of the design. If the view is omitted or the color is requested to be protected, it shall be indicated in the brief description.

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

Where an application for a patent for partial design is filed, the part for which protection is sought shall be indicated in the brief description, except where it has been indicated by a combination of dashed and solid lines in a view of the product as a whole.

The brief description shall not use commercial advertising terms or describe the performance of the product.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council may, when considering it necessary, require the applicant for a patent for design to submit a sample or model of the product incorporating the design. The volume of the sample or model shall not exceed 30 cm X 30 cm X 30 cm, and the weight shall not exceed 15 kg. Perishable, perishable or dangerous goods shall not be submitted as samples or models.

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

The academic or technological meeting referred to in Article 24, subparagraph (3) of the Patent Law means any academic or technological meeting organized by a relevant competent department of the State Council or by a national academic organization, or any academic or technological meeting organized by an international organization recognized by a relevant competent department of the State Council.

Where the invention-creation for which a patent is applied falls under the provisions of Article 24, subparagraph (2) or (3) of the Patent Law, the applicant shall, when filing the application, make a declaration and, within a time limit of two months from the date of filing, submit certifying documents indicating that the invention-creation has been exhibited or published and with the date of its exhibition or publication.

Where the invention-creation in an application for a patent falls under the provisions of Article 24, subparagraph (1) or (4) of the Patent Law, the administrative department for patent under the State Council may, when it deems necessary, require the applicant to submit a certified document within a specified time limit.

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

Where the applicant claims the right of foreign priority in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law, the copies of the earlier application documents submitted by the applicant shall be certified by the original accepting institution. In accordance with the agreement signed between the patent administration department under the State Council and the accepting institution, where the patent administration department under the State Council obtains a copy of the earlier application document through electronic exchange or other means, it shall be deemed that the applicant has submitted a copy of the earlier application document certified by the accepting institution. Where the domestic priority is claimed and the applicant indicates the filing date and the filing number of the earlier application in the request, the copy of the earlier application documents shall be deemed to have been filed.

Where the right of priority is claimed, but one or two of the date of application, the application number of the earlier application and the name of the original accepting institution are omitted or wrongly stated in the written request, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall notify the applicant to make rectification within a specified time limit; where the rectification is not made at the expiry of the time limit, the right of priority shall be deemed not to have been claimed.

Where the name of the applicant claiming the right of priority is not the same as the name of the applicant recorded in the copy of the earlier application document, the applicant shall submit the documents evidencing the assignment of the right of priority. If the evidencing documents are not submitted, the claim to the right of priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

Where the applicant for a patent for design claims the right of foreign priority, if the earlier application does not contain a brief description of the design, the right of priority shall not be affected where the brief description submitted by the applicant in accordance with Article 31 of these Rules does not go beyond the scope of the drawings or photographs shown in the earlier application document.

An applicant may claim one or more priorities for an application for a patent; where more than one priority is claimed, the priority period for the application shall be calculated from the earliest priority date.

Where an applicant for a patent for invention or utility model claims the right of domestic priority, if the earlier application is one for a patent for invention, he or it may file an application for a patent for invention or utility model for the same subject matter; if the earlier application is one for a patent for utility model, he or it may file an application for a patent for utility model or invention for the same subject matter. Where an applicant for a patent for design claims the right of domestic priority, if the earlier application is one for a patent for invention or utility model, he or it may file an application for a patent for design that has the same subject matter as the design shown in the drawings; if the earlier application is one for a patent for design, he or it may file an application for a patent for design that has the same subject matter. However, if, when the later application is filed, the subject matter of the earlier application falls under any of the following circumstances, it may not be the basis for claiming the right of domestic priority:

(1) where the right of foreign or domestic priority has been claimed;

(2) where a patent right has been granted;

(3) where it is a divisional application filed in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Where the applicant claims the right of domestic priority, his or its earlier application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn as of the date on which the later application is filed, except where the applicant for a patent for design claims that the right of domestic priority shall be based on an application for a patent for invention or utility model.

Where any applicant has exceeded the time limit provided in Article 29 of the Patent Law and has filed with the Patent Administration Department under the State Council an application for a patent for invention or utility model for the same subject matter, he or it may, if he or it has justified reasons, request restoration of the right of priority within two months from the date of expiration of that time limit.

Where an applicant for a patent for invention or utility model claims the right of priority, he may, within 16 months from the priority date or within 4 months from the application date, request that the claim for the right of priority be added to or corrected in the request.

Where an application for a patent is filed or the right of foreign priority is claimed by any applicant having no habitual residence or business office in China, the administrative department for patent under the State Council may, when considering it necessary, require the applicant to submit the following documents:

(1) if the applicant is an individual, proof of his nationality;

(2) a certificate issued by the country or region in which the applicant is registered, if the applicant is an enterprise or other organization;

(3) a certified document showing that the country, to which the applicant belongs, recognizes that Chinese entities and individuals are, under the same conditions applied to its nationals, entitled to patent right, right of priority and other related rights in that country.

Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to a single general inventive concept which may be filed as one application in accordance with the provision of Article 3l, paragraph one of the Patent Law shall be technically inter-related and contain one or more of the same or corresponding special technical features. The expression “special technical features” means that each of the inventions or utility models considered as a whole is Technical features contributing to the state of the art.

Where several similar designs of the same product are filed as one application in accordance with the provisions of Article 3l, paragraph two of the Patent Law, the remaining designs of the product shall be similar to the basic design specified in the brief description. The number of similar designs in a design patent application shall not exceed 10.

“Two or more designs of products which belong to the same class and are sold or used in sets” mentioned in Paragraph 2 of Article 31 of the Patent Law means that all the products belong to the same class in the classification table and are customarily sold or used at the same time, and the designs of all the products have the same design concept.

Where two or more designs are filed as one application, the sequential numbers of the designs shall be indicated before the titles of the drawings or photographs of each design product.

When withdrawing an application for a patent, the applicant shall submit to the Patent Administration Department under the State Council a declaration stating the title of the invention-creation, the number and date of the application.

Where a declaration to withdraw an application for a patent is submitted after the administrative department for patent under the State Council has completed the preparations for publishing the application documents, the application documents shall be published as scheduled; however, the declaration to withdraw the application for patent shall be announced in the Patent Gazette published later.

Any person who is to examine or hear a case in the procedures of preliminary examination, substantial examination, re-examination, or invalidation shall, at his own discretion or upon the request of the parties concerned or any other interested party, avoid being present in any of the following circumstances:

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

(2) where he has an interest in the application for patent or the patent right;

(Three) there are other relations with the parties or their agents, which may affect the impartial examination and trial;

(4) having participated in the examination of the original application in the reexamination or invalidation procedure.

Upon the receipt of an application for a patent for invention or utility model consisting of a request, a description (drawings must be included in an application for utility model) and one or more patent claims, or an application for a patent for design consisting of a request, one or more drawings or photographs and a brief explanation of the design, the patent administration department under the State Council shall accord the date of filing, issue a filing number, and notify the applicant.

In any of the following circumstances, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall not accept the application and notify the applicant:

(1) where the application for a patent for invention or utility model does not contain a request, a description (utility model does not contain drawings) or a claim, or the application for a patent for design does not contain a request, drawings or photographs, or a brief explanation;

(2) where the Chinese language is not used;

(3) The format of the application documents is not in conformity with the provisions;

(4) The name of the applicant or the address of the applicant is missing in the request;

Where it is obviously not in conformity with the provisions of Article 17 or Paragraph 1 of Article 18 of the Patent Law;

(6) where the category (for invention, utility model or design) of the application for a patent is not clear or is difficult to discern.

Where in an application for a patent for invention or utility model, a claim or a description or part thereof is missing or wrongly submitted, but the applicant claims the right of priority on the date of submission, he may, within 2 months from the date of submission or within the time limit specified by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, submit the application by citing the earlier application documents. If the supplementary documents are in conformity with the relevant provisions, the date of submission of the first document shall be the date of application.

Where the specification contains explanatory notes to the drawings but the drawings or part of the drawings are missing, the applicant shall, within the time limit specified by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, submit the drawings or make a declaration for the deletion of the explanatory notes to the drawings. Where the appended drawings are submitted by the applicant, the date of filing or mailing of the appended drawings to the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall be the date of filing. If the description of the appended drawings is deleted, the original date of filing shall be retained.

Where two or more applicants apply for a patent for the identical invention-creation on the same day (the application date or the priority date if there is a right of priority concerned), the applicants shall be determined through consultation among themselves after receiving the notification from the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

Where the same applicant applies for both a patent for utility model and a patent for invention for the same invention-creation on the same date (the date of application), he\/it shall, at the time of application, state that he\/it has applied for another patent for the same invention-creation; if no statement is made, it shall be dealt with in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 9 of the Patent Law that only one patent right shall be granted for the same invention-creation.

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

Where it is found after examination that there is no cause for rejection of the application for a patent for invention, the patent administration department under the State Council shall notify the applicant to renounce the patent right for utility model within the prescribed time limit. Where the applicant has made a declaration of abandonment, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a decision to grant the patent right for invention, and announce the declaration of abandonment of the patent right for utility model by the applicant together with the announcement of the grant of the patent right for invention. Where the applicant disagrees with the abandonment, the patent administration department under the State Council shall reject the application for a patent for invention. Where the applicant has not made any response at the expiry of the time limit, the application for a patent for invention shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

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

Where an application for a patent contains two or more inventions, utility models or designs, the applicant may, before the expiration of the time limit provided in Paragraph 1 of Article 60 of these Rules, submit to the administrative department for patent under the State Council a divisional application. However, where an application for a patent has been rejected, withdrawn or deemed to have been withdrawn, the divisional application may not be submitted.

Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council finds that an application for a patent is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 31 of the Patent Law and Article 39 or 40 of these Rules, it shall notify the applicant to amend the application within a specified time limit. Where the applicant has not made any response at the expiry of the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

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

For a divisional application filed in accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of these Rules, the initial application date may be reserved; if the right of priority is enjoyed, the priority date may be reserved, provided that the divisional application does not go beyond the scope of the initial application.

The divisional application shall go through relevant formalities in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules.

The application number and the application date of the original application shall be indicated in the written request for the division of application.

“Preliminary examination” mentioned in Article 34 and Article 40 of the Patent Law means the examination of an application for a patent to see whether or not it contains the documents provided in Article 26 or Article 27 of the Patent Law and other necessary documents, and whether or not these documents are in conformity with the provided format, which also includes an examination of the following:

(1) whether or not any application for a patent for invention obviously falls under the provisions of Article 5 or 25 of the Patent Law, and whether or not it is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 17, or Paragraph 1 of Article 18, or Paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Patent Law, or of Rule 11, Rule 19, or Paragraph 2 of Rule 29 of these Implementing Regulations; Whether it is obviously not in conformity with the provisions of Article 2, paragraph 2, Article 26, paragraph 5, Article 31, paragraph 1, Article 33 of the Patent Law or Articles 20 to 24 of these Rules;

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

(3) whether or not any application for a patent for design obviously falls under the provisions of Article 5 or of Article 25, paragraph one, subparagraph (6) of the Patent Law, and whether or not it is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 17 or of Article 18, paragraph one of the Patent Law or of Rule 11, 19, 30, 31 of these Implementing Regulations; Whether it is obviously not in conformity 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 of the Patent Law or Article 49, paragraph 1 of these Rules, or whether it is not entitled to a patent right in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Patent Law;

(4) Whether the application documents conform to the provisions of Article 2 and Paragraph 1 of Article 3 of these Rules.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall notify the applicant of its opinions from the examination and request the applicant to state his\/its opinions or make corrections within the specified time limit. Where the applicant fails to make any response at the expiry of the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. Where, after the applicant has made his or its observations or corrections, the administrative department for patent under the State Council still finds that the application is not in conformity with the provisions in the preceding paragraph, the application shall be rejected.

In any of the following circumstances, any document relating to a patent application, other than the patent application documents, which is submitted to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, shall be deemed to have not been submitted:

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

(Two) failing to submit supporting materials in accordance with the regulations.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall notify the applicant of the examination opinion that it is deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 52. Where the applicant requests an earlier publication of his or its application for a patent for invention, a statement shall be made to the administrative department for patent under the State Council. The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, after its preliminary examination of the application, publish it immediately unless it is to be rejected.

Where the applicant indicates the product incorporating the design and the class to which the product belongs, the classification of products for designs published by the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall be used. Where no indication, or an incorrect indication, of the class to which the product incorporating the design belongs is made, the administrative department for patent under the State Council may supplement or amend it.

Any person may, from the date of publishing an application for a patent for invention until the date of announcing the grant of the patent right, submit his opinions to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, with the reasons thereof, on the application which is not in conformity with the Patent Law.

Where the applicant for a patent for invention is unable to submit, for any justified reason, the documents concerning any search or the results of any examination provided for in Article 36 of the Patent Law, he or it shall make a statement to the Patent Administration Department under the State Council and submit them when he or it obtains the relevant documents.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, when proceeding on its own initiative to examine an application for a patent in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 35 of the Patent Law, notify the applicant accordingly.

The applicant may file a request for postponing the examination of the patent application.

When a request for examination as to substance is made, or within the time limit of three months after the receipt of the notification of the Patent Administration Department under the State Council that the application for a patent for invention has entered into examination as to substance, the applicant for a patent for invention may amend the application for a patent for invention on its or his own initiative.

Within two months from the date of filing, the applicant for a patent for utility model or design may amend the application for a patent for utility model or design on its or his own initiative.

Where the applicant amends the patent application documents after receiving the notification of examination opinions issued by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, he shall amend the defects pointed out in the notification.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council may amend the obvious diction and symbol errors in the patent application documents at its own discretion. Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council amends on its own initiative, it shall notify the applicant.

When an amendment to the description or the claims in an application for a patent for invention or utility model is made, a replacement sheet in the provided format shall be submitted, unless the amendment concerns only the alteration, insertion or deletion of a few words. Where an amendment to the drawings or photographs of an application for a patent for design is made, a replacement sheet shall be submitted as prescribed.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 38 of the Patent Law, the circumstances in which an application for a patent for invention shall be rejected after examination as to substance are as follows:

(1) where the application falls under the provisions of Articles 5 and 25 of the Patent Law, or where the applicant is not entitled to a patent right in accordance with the provisions of Article 9 of the Patent Law;

(2) where 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 of the Patent Law or Article 11, Paragraph 2 of Article 23 of these Rules;

(3) where the amendment to the application is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 33 of the Patent Law, or the divisional application is not in conformity with the provisions of Rule 49, paragraph one of these Implementing Regulations.

After the patent administration department under the State Council issues the notification to grant the patent right, the applicant shall go through the formalities of registration within 2 months from the date of receipt of the notification. If the applicant has fulfilled the formalities of registration within the said time limit, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall grant the patent right, issue the patent certificate, and announce it.

If no registration formalities have been carried out at the expiration of the time limit, the right to obtain the patent right shall be deemed to have been abandoned.

Where it is found after examination that there is no cause for rejection of the application for a confidential patent, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall make a decision to grant the confidential patent right, issue a confidential patent certificate, and register the relevant matters of the confidential patent right.

After the announcement of the decision to grant the patent right for utility model or design, the patentee, interested party or the accused infringer provided for in Article 66 of the Patent Law may request the patent administration department under the State Council to make a patent evaluation report. The applicant may request the administrative department for patent under the State Council to make a patent evaluation report when going through the formalities for patent registration.

Where a request for a patent evaluation report is made, a request for a patent evaluation report shall be submitted, stating the patent application number or patent number. Each request shall be limited to one patent application or patent right.

Where the request for a patent evaluation report is not in conformity with the provisions, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall notify the person making the request to rectify it within a specified time limit. Where the person making the request fails to rectify it within the specified time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall make a patent evaluation report within 2 months after receiving the request for a patent evaluation report. However, where the applicant requests a patent evaluation report when going through the patent registration formalities, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall make a patent evaluation report within 2 months from the date of announcing the grant of the patent right.

Where more than one petitioner requests a patent evaluation report for the same patent right for utility model or design, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make only one patent evaluation report. Any entity or individual may consult or copy the patent evaluation report.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, upon discovery of any error in the patent announcement or in the single patent version, correct it in time, and announce such correction.

Where the request for reexamination is submitted to the Patent Administration Department under the State Council in accordance with the provisions of Article 41 of the Patent Law, a request for reexamination shall be filed, the reasons for which shall be stated, and, when necessary, relevant supporting documents shall be attached.

Where the request for reexamination is not in conformity with the provisions of Article l8, paragraph one, or Article 41, paragraph one, of the Patent Law, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall not accept it, and shall notify the person making the request for reexamination in writing, together with an explanation of the reasons.

Where the request for reexamination is not in conformity with the provided form, the person making the request shall rectify it within the time limit specified by the administrative department for patent under the State Council. If it is not rectified at the expiry of the time limit, the request for reexamination shall be deemed not to have been made.

The person making the request may, when requesting reexamination or making responses to the notification of reexamination made by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, amend the patent application documents; however, the amendments shall be limited to removing the defects pointed out in the decision of rejection or the notification of reexamination.

Where, after reexamination, the Patent Administration Department under the State Council finds that the request for reexamination is not in conformity with relevant provisions in the Patent Law and these Implementing Regulations, or that the application is in other circumstances which obviously violate relevant provisions in the Patent Law and these Implementing Regulations, it shall invite the person requesting reexamination to submit his observations within a specified time limit. Where no response has been made at the expiry of the time limit, the request for reexamination shall be deemed to have been withdrawn; where, after the making of the observations and amendments, the administrative department for patent under the State Council still finds that the request for reexamination is not in conformity with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall make a decision of reexamination to reject the request for reexamination.

Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council considers after reexamination that the original decision on rejection is not in conformity with relevant provisions in the Patent Law and these Rules, or considers that the defects pointed out in the original decision on rejection and the notification of reexamination have been removed from the amended patent application documents, it shall revoke the original decision on rejection and continue the examination procedures.

At any time before the Patent Administration Department under the State Council makes a decision on the request for reexamination, the person making the request may withdraw his request for reexamination.

Where the person making the request withdraws his request for reexamination before the administrative department for patent under the State Council makes a decision on it, the reexamination procedures shall be terminated.

Anyone requesting invalidation or partial invalidation of a patent right in accordance with Article 45 of the Patent Law shall submit a written request and necessary supporting documents in two copies to the administrative department for patent under the State Council. The request for invalidation shall specify the reasons for the request for invalidation in combination with all the evidence submitted, and indicate the evidence on which each reason is based.

The reasons for the request for invalidation referred to in the preceding paragraph means that the invention-creation for which the patent right is granted does not comply with 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 provided for in Articles 5 and 25 of the Patent Law, or the applicant is not entitled to a patent right in accordance with Article 9 of the Patent Law.

Where a request for invalidation of a patent right is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 18, paragraph one of the Patent Law or Article 69 of these Rules, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall not accept it.

Where, after the Patent Administration Department under the State Council has made a decision on the request for invalidation, a request for invalidation is made on the same grounds and evidence, the Patent Administration Department under the State Council shall not accept it.

Where a request for invalidation of a patent right for design is made on the ground that it is not in conformity with the provisions of Article 23.3 of the Patent Law, but no evidence is submitted to prove the conflict of rights, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall not accept it.

Where the request for invalidation of the patent right is not in conformity with the prescribed form, the person making the request shall rectify it within the time limit specified by the administrative department for patent under the State Council. If the rectification is not made at the expiry of the time limit, the request for invalidation shall be deemed not to have been made.

After the administrative department for patent under the State Council has accepted the request for invalidation, the person making the request may add reasons or supplement evidence within 1 month from the date when the request for invalidation is filed. The administrative department for patent under the State Council may not consider any additional reasons or supplementary evidence after the expiration of the time limit.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall send the written request for the invalidation of the patent right and the copies of the relevant documents to the patentee, requiring it to state its opinions within a specified time limit.

The patentee and the person making the request for invalidation shall, within the specified time limit, make responses to the notification on transmitting the documents or the notification on examining the request for invalidation sent by the administrative department for patent under the State Council; where no response has been made at the expiry of the time limit, the examination by the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall not be affected.

In the course of the examination of the request for invalidation, the patentee of a patent for invention or utility model may amend its claims, but shall not expand the scope of protection of the original patent. Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council makes a decision to maintain the validity of the patent right or to declare a part of the patent right invalid on the basis of the amended claims, it shall announce the amended claims.

The patentee of a patent for invention or utility model shall not amend the specification or the appended drawings of a patent, and the patentee of a patent for design shall not amend the drawings, photographs or brief explanation.

The Patent Administration Department under the State Council may, upon the request of the party concerned or in accordance with the needs of the case, decide to conduct an oral procedure in respect of the request for invalidation.

Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council decides to hear the request for invalidation orally, it shall send a notification on the oral hearing to the party concerned, informing the date and place for holding the oral hearing. The parties shall make a reply within the time limit specified in the notice.

Where the person making the request for invalidation has not made any response within the time limit specified in the notification on oral hearing sent by the patent administration department under the State Council, and does not participate in the oral hearing, the request for invalidation shall be deemed to have been withdrawn; where the patentee does not participate in the oral hearing, the case may be heard by default.

In the course of the examination of a request for invalidation, the time limit specified by the Patent Administration Department under the State Council shall not be extended.

The person making the request for invalidation may withdraw his request before the Patent Administration Department under the State Council makes a decision on it.

Where the person making the request for invalidation withdraws his request or the request for invalidation is deemed to be withdrawn before the administrative department for patent under the State Council makes a decision, the examination procedures for the request for invalidation shall be terminated. However, where the administrative department for patent under the State Council considers that it can make a decision declaring the patent right invalid or partially invalid on the basis of the examination work already carried out, it shall not terminate the examination procedure.

Where a request for compensation for the duration of a patent right is made in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Article 42 of the Patent Law, the patentee shall, within three months from the date of the announcement of the grant of the patent right, submit it to the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

Where compensation for the duration of the patent right is granted in accordance with the provisions of Article 42, paragraph 2, of the Patent Law, the duration of compensation shall be calculated on the basis of the actual number of days of unreasonable delay in the process of authorization of the patent for invention.

The term “the actual number of days of unreasonable delay in the process of granting a patent for invention” as mentioned in the preceding paragraph refers to the number of days between the expiration of four years from the date of application for a patent for invention and the expiration of three years from the date of request for substantive examination and 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 are reasonable delays:

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

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

(3) Delays caused by other reasonable circumstances.

Where the same applicant applies for both a patent for utility model and a patent for invention for the same invention-creation on the same day, and obtains a patent right for invention in accordance with the provisions of Article 47, paragraph four of these Rules, the duration of the patent right for the invention shall not be governed by the provisions of Article 42, paragraph two of the Patent Law.

The unreasonable delay caused by the applicant as prescribed in Paragraph 2 of Article 42 of the Patent Law includes the following circumstances:

(1) failure to respond to the notification sent by the administrative department for patent under the State Council within the specified time limit;

(2) Application for postponement of examination;

(3) Delays caused by the circumstances specified in Article 45 of these Rules;

(4) Other unreasonable delays caused by the applicant.

The term “patents for inventions related to new drugs” as mentioned in Paragraph 3 of Article 42 of the Patent Law refers to patents for new drug products, patents for preparation methods and patents for medical uses that meet the requirements.

a request for compensation for the duration of the patent right for inventions related to new drugs in accordance with the provisions of Article 42, paragraph 3, of the Patent Law shall be submitted to the patent administration department under the State Council within three months from the date of obtaining the marketing license for the new drug in China in accordance with the following requirements:

(1) If the new drug has more than one patent at the same time, the patentee can only request compensation for the duration of the patent for one of the patents;

(2) If a patent involves more than one new drug at the same time, only one new drug can make a claim for compensation for the duration of the patent;

(3) The patent is within the period of validity and has not been compensated for the duration of the patent right for inventions related to new drugs.

Where compensation for the term of a patent right is granted in accordance with the provisions of Article 42.3 of the Patent Law, the term of compensation shall be determined on the basis of compliance with the provisions of Article 42.3 of the Patent Law by subtracting five years from the number of days between the date of application for the patent and the date of obtaining the marketing license for the new drug in China.

During the term of patent right compensation, the scope of protection of a patent for an invention related to a new drug shall be limited to the new drug and its approved technical scheme related to the indication; within the scope of protection, the patentee shall enjoy the same rights and bear the same obligations as before the term of patent right compensation.

Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council, after examining the request for compensation of the duration of a patent right made in accordance with Paragraph 2 or 3 of Article 42 of the Patent Law, considers that the conditions for compensation are met, it shall make a decision to grant a time limit for compensation, and shall register and announce it; where the conditions for compensation are not met, it shall make a decision not to grant a time limit for compensation, and notify the patentee who made the request.

Article 85. Where a patentee voluntarily declares to open for licensing its or his patent, the declaration shall be made after the grant of the patent right is announced.

The open license statement shall specify the following items:

(1) Patent number;

(2) The name of the patentee;

(Three) payment methods and standards for patent licensing fees;

(4) The term of the patent license;

(Five) other matters that need to be clarified.

The content of the open license statement shall be accurate and clear, and no commercial advertising terms shall appear.

In any of the following circumstances, the patentee shall not grant an open license to a patent right:

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

(2) it falls under the circumstances of suspension as provided for in Articles 103 and 104 of these Rules;

(Three) failing to pay the annual fee in accordance with the regulations;

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

(Five) other circumstances that hinder the effective implementation of the patent right.

Where a license for exploitation of a patent is granted through an open license, the patentee or the licensee shall file with the administrative department for patent under the State Council for the record on the basis of a written document that can prove that the license has been granted.

a patentee shall not, by providing false materials or concealing facts, make an open license declaration or obtain a reduction or exemption of the annual patent fee during the implementation of the open license.

The “insufficient exploitation of the patent” referred to in Article 53, subparagraph (1) of the Patent Law means that the patentee and his licensee are unable to exploit the patent in such a manner or on such a scale as to satisfy the domestic demand for the patented product or process.

“Patented medicine” mentioned in Article 55 of the Patent Law refers to any patented product in the field of medicine needed to solve public health problems or a product directly obtained by a patented process, including the active ingredients required for the manufacture of the patented product and the diagnostic supplies required for the use of the product.

Anyone requesting a compulsory license shall submit a request for compulsory license to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, state the reasons therefor, and attach relevant supporting documents.

The patent administration department under the State Council shall send a copy of the request for compulsory license to the patentee. The patentee shall make his or its observations within the time limit specified by the patent administration department under the State Council. Where no response is made within the time limit, the patent administration department under the State Council shall not be affected in making a decision.

Before making a decision to reject the request for a compulsory license or to grant a compulsory license, the patent administration department under the State Council shall notify the person who made the request and the patentee of the decision they intend to make and the reasons for it.

When the patent administration department under the State Council makes a decision to grant a compulsory license in accordance with the provisions of Article 55 of the Patent Law, it shall also comply with the provisions of the relevant international treaties concluded or acceded to by China on granting a compulsory license for the purpose of solving public health problems, except where China has made reservations.

Where, in accordance with the provisions of Article 62 of the Patent Law, the administrative department for patent under the State Council is requested to adjudicate the amount of the exploitation fee, the party concerned shall submit a request for adjudication and attach the documents proving that the two parties have not been able to reach an agreement. The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, within 3 months from the date of receipt of the request, make a ruling and notify the party concerned.

The entity to which a patent right is granted may agree with the inventor or creator or specify the manner and amount of the reward or remuneration provided for in Article 15 of the Patent Law in the rules and regulations formulated by it according to law. Units granted patent rights are encouraged to implement property rights incentives by means of equity, options and dividends, so that inventors or designers can reasonably share the benefits of innovation.

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

Where the entity to which a patent right has been granted has not made an agreement with the inventor or designer, nor has it stipulated in the rules and regulations it has formulated according to law the form and amount of award provided for in Article 15 of the Patent Law, it shall, within three months from the date of the announcement of the grant of the patent right, award the inventor or designer a prize of money. The sum of money prize for a patent for invention shall be no less than 4000 yuan; the sum of money prize for a patent for utility model or design shall be no less than 1500 yuan.

For an invention-creation made on the basis of an inventor's or creator's proposal adopted by the entity to which he belongs, the entity that has been granted a patent right shall award a money prize on a preferential basis.

Where the entity to which a patent right is granted has not made an agreement with the inventor or designer, nor has it stipulated in its rules and regulations formulated according to law the manner and amount of remuneration provided for in Article 15 of the Patent Law, it shall pay 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.

The administrative authority for patent affairs of the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government, or the administrative authority for patent affairs of the people's government of a prefecture-level city, autonomous prefecture, league, region or municipality directly under the Central Government with a large amount of patent administration work and actual ability to handle it, may handle and mediate patent disputes.

Any of the following circumstances belongs to a patent infringement dispute that has a significant impact on the whole country as mentioned in Article 70 of the Patent Law:

(1) involving major public interests;

(Two) having a significant impact on the development of the industry;

(Three) major cases across provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government;

(4) other circumstances which, in the opinion of the administrative department for patent under the State Council, may have significant impact.

Where a patentee or interested party requests the patent administration department under the State Council to handle a patent infringement dispute, and the relevant case does not belong to a patent infringement dispute that has a significant impact on the whole country, the patent administration department under the State Council may designate the administrative department for patent work of the local people's government that has jurisdiction to handle it.

Where a party concerned requests the handling of a patent infringement dispute or the mediation of a patent dispute, it shall be under the jurisdiction of the department for the administration of patent work in the place where the respondent is located or where the infringement occurs.

Where two or more departments for the administration of patent work have jurisdiction over a patent dispute, the party concerned may make a request to one of the departments for the administration of patent work; where the party concerned makes a request to two or more departments for the administration of patent work with jurisdiction, the department for the administration of patent work that first accepts the request shall have jurisdiction.

Where a jurisdictional dispute arises between the departments for the administration of patent work, jurisdiction shall be designated by the department for the administration of patent work of the people's government at a higher level over both parties; where there is no such department for the administration of patent work of the people's government at a higher level over both parties, jurisdiction shall be designated by the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

Where, in the course of handling a patent infringement dispute, the respondent has filed a request for invalidation and has been accepted by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, he may request the department for the administration of patent work to suspend the handling.

Where the department for the administration of patent work considers that the reasons for suspension given by the respondent are obviously untenable, it may refuse to suspend the disposal.

Where any patentee affixes a patent mark on the patented product or on the package of that product in accordance with Article 16 of the Patent Law, he or it shall make the affixation in the manner as prescribed by the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

If the patent mark does not conform to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the department responsible for patent law enforcement at or above the county level shall order it to make corrections.

Where any applicant or patentee violates the provisions of Article 11 or Article 88 of these Rules, he shall be given a warning and may be fined not more than 100,000 yuan by the department responsible for patent law enforcement at or above the county level.

The following acts shall be acts of passing off a patent as provided for in Article 68 of the Patent Law:

(1) Marking a patent mark on a product or its package that has not been granted a patent right, continuing to mark a patent mark on the product or its package after the patent right has been declared invalid or terminated, or marking the patent number of another person on the product or its package without permission;

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

(3) In the product specifications and other materials, the technology or design that has not been granted a patent right is called a patented technology or a patented design, the patent application is called a patent, or the patent number of another person is used without permission, which makes the public mistake the technology or design involved for a patented technology or a patented design;

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

(5) Other acts that confuse the public and mistake technologies or designs that have not been granted patent rights as patented technologies or patented designs.

It is not an act of counterfeiting a patent to mark a patent mark on a patented product, a product directly obtained by a patented method or its packaging according to law before the termination of the patent right, and to promise to sell or sell the product after the termination of the patent right.

If a person sells a product that is not known to be a counterfeit patent and can prove the legitimate source of the product, the department responsible for patent law enforcement at or above the county level shall order him to stop selling it.

Except as provided in Article 65 of the Patent Law, the department for the administration of patent work may, at the request of the party concerned, mediate the following patent disputes:

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

(Two) disputes over the qualifications of inventors and designers;

(3) disputes over the rewards and remuneration of inventors and designers of service invention-creations;

(4) a dispute over the use of an invention without payment of an appropriate fee after the publication of the application for a patent for invention but before the grant of the patent right;

(5) Other patent disputes.

For the disputes enumerated in Item (4) of the preceding paragraph, if the parties request the department for the administration of patent work for mediation, they shall do so after the grant of the patent right.

Where a party concerned, in case of a dispute due to the ownership of the right of patent application or the patent right, has requested the department for the administration of patent work to mediate or has initiated a lawsuit to the people's court, he may request the administrative department for patent under the State Council to suspend relevant procedures.

Anyone who requests suspension of relevant procedures in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall submit a written request to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, state the reasons, and affix copies of the relevant acceptance documents issued by the department for the administration of patent work or the people's court with the application number or patent number indicated. Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council considers that the reason for suspension given by the party concerned is obviously untenable, it may not suspend the relevant procedure.

After the conciliation statement made by the department for the administration of patent work or the judgment made by the people's court has entered into force, the party concerned shall go through the formalities for recovering the relevant procedures in the administrative department for patent under the State Council. Where a dispute relating to the ownership of the right of patent application or the patent right has not been settled within one year from the date of requesting suspension, and it is necessary to continue to suspend the relevant procedures, the petitioner shall request an extension of the suspension within the time limit. Where the request for extension is not made at the expiry of the time limit, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall resume the relevant procedures at its own discretion.

Where the people's court has ordered to adopt preservative measures over the right to apply for a patent or the patent right in the trial of a civil case, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall suspend relevant procedures for the preserved right to apply for a patent or the patent right on the day when it receives the written order indicating the application number or the patent number and the notification for assistance in execution. Where, at the expiration of the preservation period, the people's court has not ordered to continue the preservation measures, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall recover the relevant procedures at its own discretion.

that suspension of relevant procedure by the administrative department for patent under the State Council in accordance with the provision of article 103 and 104 of these rules means the suspension of the procedures for preliminary examination, substantive examination and reexamination of an application for patent, the procedure for the grant of patent right and the procedures for the invalidation of patent right; The procedures for abandoning, altering or transferring the patent right or the patent application right, the procedures for the pledge of the patent right and the procedures for the termination of the patent right before the expiration of the term of the patent right shall be suspended.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall keep a Patent Register in which the following matters relating to patent applications and patent rights shall be registered:

(1) grant of the patent right;

(2) The transfer of the right of patent application and the patent right;

(3) The pledge, preservation and cancellation of the patent right;

(4) Filing of patent licensing contracts;

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

(6) invalidation of the patent right;

(7) termination of the patent right;

(8) Restoration of the patent right;

(9) Compensation for the duration of the patent right;

(10) Open license for patent exploitation;

(11) compulsory license for exploitation of the patent;

(12) any change in the name, nationality or address of the patentee.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall publish the Patent Gazette at regular intervals, publishing or announcing the following:

(1) the bibliographic data and the abstract of the specification of an application for a patent for invention;

(2) any request for examination as to substance of an application for a patent for invention and any decision made by the Patent Administration Department under the State Council to proceed on its own initiative to examine as to substance an application for a patent for invention;

(3) Rejection, withdrawal, deemed withdrawal, deemed abandonment, restoration and transfer of an application for a patent for invention after its publication;

(4) The grant of patent rights and the bibliographic data of patent rights;

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

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

(7) invalidation of the patent right;

(8) The termination or restoration of the patent right;

(9) Compensation for the duration of the patent right;

(10) transfer of the patent right;

(11) Filing of patent licensing contracts;

(12) The pledge, preservation and cancellation of the patent right;

(Thirteen) open licensing matters for patent implementation;

(14) grant of a compulsory license for exploitation of the patent;

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

(16) Service of documents by public announcement;

(17) corrections made by the administrative department for patent under the State Council;

(18) Other relevant matters.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall provide the patent Gazette, the single edition of the patent application for invention and the single edition of the patent for invention, utility model and design for free reference by the public.

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

When filing an application for a patent with the administrative department for patent under the State Council and fulfilling other formalities, the following fees shall be charged:

(1) Application fee, additional fee for application, publishing and printing fee and fee for claiming priority;

(2) fee for substantial examination of an application for a patent for invention and re-examination fee;

(3) Annual fee;

(Four) request fee for restoration of rights and request fee for extension of time limit;

(5) Fees for changes in bibliographic items, fees for requests for patent evaluation reports, fees for requests for invalidation and fees for certification of copies of patent documents.

The standards for the payment of the various fees listed in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the development and reform department and the financial department of the State Council in conjunction with the patent administration department of the State Council according to their respective responsibilities. The financial department and the development and reform department under the State Council may, in conjunction with the patent administration department under the State Council, adjust the types and standards of fees payable for patent application and other formalities according to the actual situation.

The fees provided for in the Patent Law and these Implementing Regulations shall be paid strictly in accordance with the provisions.

Where the fees are directly paid to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, the date when the payment was made shall be regarded as the payment date; where the fees are remitted by post, the date of mailing indicated by the postmark shall be regarded as the payment date; where the fees are remitted by bank, the date of actual remittance by the bank shall be regarded as the payment date.

Where any patent fee is overpaid, repaid or wrongly paid, the party concerned may, within three years from the date of payment, request the administrative department for patent under the State Council for a refund, and the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall refund the fee.

The applicant shall, within 2 months from the filing date or within 15 days from the date of receipt of the notification of acceptance of the application, pay the filing fee, the printing fee for publication of the application and the necessary additional fee for filing of application. Where the filing fee is not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

An applicant who claims the right of priority shall pay the fee for claiming the right of priority together with the application fee; where the fee has not been paid or fully paid at the expiry of the time limit, the claim shall be deemed not to have been made.

Where the party concerned requests an examination or reexamination as to substance, the relevant fee shall be paid within the time limit prescribed respectively by the Patent Law and these Implementing Regulations; where the fee has not been paid or fully paid at the expiry of the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.

When the applicant goes through the formalities of registration, he 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 at the expiration of the time limit, the applicant shall be deemed not to have gone through the formalities of registration.

The annual fee after the year in which the patent right is granted shall be paid before the expiration of the preceding year. Where the annual fee is not paid or not paid in full by the patentee, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall notify the patentee to rectify the insufficiency within 6 months as of the expiry of the time limit within which the annual fee should be paid, and at the same time pay a surcharge, the amount of which shall be calculated by charging an additional 5% of the total amount of the annual fee for that year for each month exceeding the provided payment time; where the insufficiency has not been paid at the expiry of the time limit, the patent right shall be terminated as of the expiry of the time.

The fee for a claim for restoration of rights shall be paid within the relevant time limit prescribed in these Rules; if the fee is not paid or not paid in full at the expiration of the time limit, the claim shall be deemed not to have been filed.

The fee for requesting the extension of the time limit shall be paid before the expiration of the corresponding time limit; if the fee is not paid or not paid in full at the expiration of the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.

The fee for a change in the bibliographic data, the fee for requesting an evaluation report on a patent right, and the fee for requesting invalidation shall be paid within one month from the date on which the request is filed. If the fee is not paid or not paid in full at the expiration of the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been filed.

Where any applicant or patentee has difficulties in paying the various fees provided in these Implementing Regulations, he may, in accordance with the relevant provisions, submit a request for reduction to the Patent Administration Department under the State Council. The measures for the reduction 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.

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

Where any international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating China (hereinafter referred to as the “international application”) enters the phase of processing by the patent administration department under the State Council (hereinafter referred to as the “Chinese national phase”), the requirements and procedures prescribed in this Chapter shall apply. Where no provisions are made in this Chapter, the relevant provisions in the Patent Law and in any other chapters of these Rules shall apply.

Any international application for which the international filing date has been determined in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty and which has designated China shall be deemed to have been 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.

Any applicant for an international application shall, within 30 months from the priority date as 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 at the administrative department for patent under the State Council; If the applicant fails to go through the formalities within the time limit, he may go through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase within 32 months from the priority date after paying the grace fee.

The applicant who goes through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase in accordance with the provisions of Article 120 of these Rules shall meet the following requirements:

(1) a written declaration for the entry of the national phase in China submitted in Chinese, indicating the international application number and the type of patent right requested to be obtained;

(2) to pay the application fee and the publishing and printing fee provided for in Paragraph 1 of Article 110 of these Rules, and, if necessary, to pay the grace fee provided for in Article 120 of these Rules;

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

(4) indicating the title of the invention-creation, the name and address of the applicant and the name of the inventor in the written declaration for the entry of the National Phase in China, which shall be consistent with the record in the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (hereinafter referred to as the International Bureau); if the inventor is not indicated in the international application, the name of the inventor shall be indicated in the above-mentioned declaration;

(5) Where the international application is filed in a foreign language, the Chinese translation of the abstract shall be submitted, and where there are drawings and drawings attached to the abstract, copies of the drawings shall be submitted and the drawings attached to the abstract shall be designated, and where there are words in the drawings, they shall be replaced by the corresponding Chinese words;

(6) where the formalities for the change of the applicant have been completed with the International Bureau in the international phase, the supporting materials for the right of application of the applicant after the change shall be provided when necessary;

(7) to pay, when necessary, the additional fee for application prescribed in Paragraph 1 of Article 110 of these Rules.

Where the application meets the requirements of Items (1) to (3) of Paragraph 1 of this Article, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall issue an application number, specify the date on which the international application has entered the National Phase in China (hereinafter referred to as the date of entry), and notify the applicant that his international application has entered the National Phase in China.

Where the international application has entered the Chinese national phase but does not meet the requirements in Items (4) to (7) of Paragraph 1 of this Article, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall notify the applicant to make rectification within the specified time limit; where the rectification is not made at the expiry of the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

The effectiveness of an international application in China shall be terminated under any of the following circumstances:

(1) where, in the International Phase, the international application is withdrawn or is deemed to be withdrawn, or the designation of China in the international application is withdrawn;

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

(3) where the applicant has gone through the formalities for the entry of the Chinese national phase, but the requirements in subparagraphs (1) to (3) of Article 121 of these Rules have still not been met at the expiration of a period of 32 months from the priority date.

Where the effectiveness of an international application ceases in China according to the provisions of Item (1) of the preceding paragraph, the provisions of Article 6 of these Rules shall not apply; where the effectiveness of an international application ceases in China according to the provisions of Items (2) and (3) of the preceding paragraph, the provisions of Paragraph 2 of Article 6 of these Rules shall not apply.

Where an international application has been amended in the International Phase and the applicant requests examination on the basis of the amended application documents, the Chinese translation of the amended part shall be submitted within 2 months from the date of entry. Where the Chinese translation is not submitted within the time limit, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall not consider the amendments made by the applicant in the international phase.

Where any invention-creation to which the international application relates has one of the events referred to in Article 24, subparagraph (2) or (3) of the Patent Law and where statements have been made in this respect when the international application was filed, the applicant shall indicate it in the written statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase, and furnish the relevant certificates prescribed in Rule 33, paragraph three of these Implementing Regulations within two months from the date of entry; Where no explanation is given or no certifying document is submitted within the time limit, the application shall not be governed by the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law.

Where the applicant has made indications concerning deposited biological materials in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the requirements provided for in Rule 27, subparagraph (3) of these Implementing Regulations shall be deemed to have been fulfilled. In the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase, the applicant shall indicate the documents recording the particulars of the deposit of the biological materials, and the exact location of the record in the documents.

Where particulars concerning the deposit of the biological material are contained in the description of the international application as initially filed, but there is no such indication in the declaration for the entry of the Chinese national phase, the applicant shall make a correction within four months from the date of entry. If the rectification has not been made at the expiration of the time limit, the biological material shall be deemed not to have been deposited.

Where the applicant submits the certificates of the deposit and the viability of the biological materials to the administrative department for patent under the State Council within four months from the date of entry, the deposit of biological materials shall be deemed to have been made within the time limit as provided for in Rule 27, subparagraph (1) of these Rules.

Where the invention-creation involved in an international application is completed in reliance on genetic resources, the applicant shall make a statement in the written declaration on the entry of the international application into the Chinese national phase, and fill in the form formulated by the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

Where the applicant claims one or more rights of priority in the International Phase and such claims remain valid at the time when the application enters the Chinese national phase, the applicant shall be deemed to have submitted a written declaration in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law.

The applicant shall pay the fee for claiming the right of priority within two months from the date of entry; where the fee has not been paid or fully paid at the expiry of the time limit, the right of priority shall be deemed not to have been claimed.

Where the applicant has submitted a copy of the earlier application in the international phase in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, he or it shall be exempted from submitting a copy of the earlier application to the administrative department for patent under the State Council at the time of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase. Where the applicant fails to submit the copies of the earlier application documents in the International Phase, the administrative department for patent under the State Council may, when considering it necessary, notify the applicant to supplement them within a specified time limit; where the applicant fails to do so at the expiry of the time limit, his or its claim for priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

Where, within 2 months after the expiration of the period of priority, the filing date of the international application has been approved by the receiving Office in the international phase to restore the right of priority, the request for restoration of the right of priority shall be deemed to have been filed in accordance with the provisions of Article 36 of these Rules; Where, in the international phase, the applicant has not requested the restoration of the right of priority, or has made a request for the restoration of the right of priority but the receiving office has not approved it, and the applicant has justified reasons, he may, within 2 months from the date of entry, request the administrative department for patent under the State Council to restore the right of priority.

Where, before the expiration of 30 months from “the priority date”, the applicant files a request with the Patent Administration Department under the State Council for early processing and examination of his or its international application, he or it shall, in addition to going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, submit a request in accordance with the provisions in Article 23.2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Where the international application has not been transmitted by the International Bureau to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, the applicant shall submit a confirmed copy of the international application.

For an international application for a patent for utility model, the applicant may, within 2 months from the date of entry, propose to amend the patent application documents on his own initiative.

The international application for the patent right for invention shall be subject to Paragraph 1 of Article 57 of these Rules.

Where the applicant finds that there are errors in the Chinese translation of the description, the claims or the text of the appended drawings as filed, he\/it may file a request for correction in accordance with the original international application within the following time limits:

(1) before the administrative department for patent under the State Council has completed the preparations for publishing the patent application for invention or announcing the patent right for utility model;

(2) within 3 months as of the receipt of the notification sent by the administrative department for patent under the State Council on the entry of the application for a patent for invention into the stage of substantial examination.

Where the applicant intends to correct the errors in the translation, he shall submit a written request and pay the prescribed fee for the correction of the translation.

Where the applicant corrects the translation in accordance with the notification of the administrative department for patent under the State Council, he\/it shall, within the specified time limit, fulfill the formalities provided in the second paragraph of this Article. Where the applicant fails to fulfill the prescribed formalities at the expiry of the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

For an international application claiming the patent right for invention, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, if considering it to be in conformity with relevant provisions in the Patent Law and these Rules after the preliminary examination, publish it in the Patent Gazette; where the international application is filed in a language other than Chinese, the Chinese translation of the application documents shall be published.

Where the international publication of an international application claiming for the patent right for invention is made by the International Bureau in Chinese, it shall be subject to Article 13 of the Patent Law from the date of international publication or from the date of publication by the administrative department for patent under the State Council; where the international publication is made by the International Bureau in a language other than Chinese, it shall be subject to Article 13 of the Patent Law from the date of publication by the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

For an international application, “publication” mentioned in Articles 21 and 22 of the Patent Law means the publication provided in Paragraph 1 of this Article.

Where two or more inventions or utility models are contained in an international application, the applicant may, from the date of entry, file a division of application in accordance with the provisions of Rule 48, paragraph one of these Implementing Regulations.

If, in the International Phase, the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examination Authority considers that the international application is not in conformity with the requirement of singularity provided in the Patent Cooperation Treaty, and the applicant fails to pay the additional fee as provided, thus causing some parts of the international application to be the subject of international searching or international preliminary examination, the applicant requests that the said parts be the basis of examination at the time of entry into the National Phase in China. Where the administrative department for patent under the State Council considers that the decision on unity of invention made by the international retrieval entity or the international preliminary examination entity is justified, it shall notify the applicant to pay the fee for restoration of unity within a specified time limit. Where the said fee has not been paid or fully paid at the expiry of the time limit, the parts of the international application which have not undergone search or international preliminary examination shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Where, in the International Phase, an international application is refused by a relevant international entity to grant an international application date on it or is declared to be deemed to have been withdrawn, the applicant may, within 2 months from the date on which he or it receives the notice, request the International Bureau to transfer the copy of any document in the file of the international application to the administrative department for patent under the State Council. The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, after receiving the documents transmitted by the International Bureau, re-examine whether the decision made by the international entity is correct.

With respect to the patent right granted upon the international application, if the scope of protection determined in accordance with Article 64 of the Patent Law has exceeded the scope expressed in the original text of the international application due to errors in the translation, the protection scope which is limited on the basis of the original text shall prevail; if the protection scope is narrower than the scope expressed in the original text of the international application due to such errors in the translation, the protection scope at the time of grant shall prevail.

The administrative department for patent under the State Council shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 (2) and (3) of the Patent Law, handle the application for international registration of industrial designs filed in accordance with the Hague Agreement for the International Registration of Industrial Designs (1999 Text) (hereinafter referred to as the Hague Agreement).

The requirements and procedures of the administrative department for patent under the State Council for handling the international registration of designs filed in accordance with the Hague Agreement and designating China (hereinafter referred to as the international application for design) shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter. Where there are no provisions in this Chapter, the relevant provisions in the Patent Law and other chapters of these Rules shall apply.

Any international application for a design for which an international registration date has been fixed in accordance with the Hague Agreement and which has designated China shall be deemed to be an application for a patent for design filed with the patent administration department under the State Council. The international registration date shall be deemed to be the filing date referred to in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

After the publication of an international application for design by the International Bureau, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall examine the international application for design and notify the International Bureau of the result of the examination.

Where the international application for a design published by the International Bureau contains one or more claims of priority, the written declaration shall be deemed to have been made in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law.

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

Where the design to which the international application relates falls under the provisions of Article 24, subparagraph (2) or (3) of the Patent Law, the applicant shall, when filing the international application for design, make a declaration and furnish the relevant certified documents prescribed in Rule 33, paragraph three of these Implementing Regulations within two months from the date of publication of the international application for design.

Where an international application for a design contains two or more designs, the applicant may, within two months from the date of publication of the international application for design, file with the Patent Administration Department under the State Council a divisional application and pay the fee.

Where the international application for a design published by the International Bureau contains a specification containing key points of the design, the specification shall be deemed to have been filed in accordance with the provisions of Rule 31.

Where it is found after examination of the international application for design by the administrative department for patent under the State Council that there is no cause for rejection, the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall make the decision to grant protection and notify the International Bureau of the same.

The decision to grant protection made by the patent administration department under the State Council shall be announced, and the patent right for design shall take effect as of the date of the announcement.

Where the formalities for the change of rights have been completed in the International Bureau, the applicant shall submit the relevant certification materials to the administrative department for patent under the State Council.

Any person may, upon approval by the administrative department for patent under the State Council, inspect or copy the files of the published or announced patent applications and the Patent Register, and may request the administrative department for patent under the State Council to issue a copy of the Patent Register.

The files of patent applications which are deemed to have been withdrawn or which have been rejected or which have been voluntarily withdrawn shall not be preserved after the expiration of two years from the date on which the applications cease to be valid.

Where the patent right has been abandoned, wholly invalidated or ceased, the files shall not be preserved after expiration of three years from the date on which the patent right ceases to be valid.

The application documents submitted to the administrative department for patent under the State Council and the formalities fulfilled shall be signed or sealed by the applicant, the patentee, other interested parties or their representatives; where a patent agency is appointed, it shall be sealed by the patent agency.

Where a change of the name of the inventor, the name, nationality and address of the applicant or the patentee, or the name and address of the patent agency and the name of the patent agent is requested, a request for a change in the bibliographic data shall be made to the administrative department for patent under the State Council, and when necessary, supporting materials for the change shall be submitted.

The documents relating to a patent application or patent right which are mailed to the administrative department for patent under the State Council shall be mailed by registered letter and shall not be mailed by parcel.

Except for any patent application document submitted for the first time, any document which is submitted to and any formality which is gone through at the patent administration department under the State Council, the application number or the patent number, the title of the invention-creation and the name of the applicant or the patentee shall be indicated.

A letter shall contain only the documents of the same application.

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

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