CHINA PATENT & TRADEMARK LAW OFFICE
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    • Why do you need to register a trademark in China
    • What do you need to do to register a Chinese trademark
    • The Difference Between Copyright, Trademark and Patent
    • How And Why To Trademark In China
    • How do I protect myself from Intellectual Property Theft in China
    • How To Protect Your Intellectual Propery (IP) Rights In China
    • 7 Steps to Protect Your Intellectual Property in China
    • China is strengthening intellectual property protection
    • What should a foreign business know about filing a trademark in China
    • A Guide to the Chinese Trademark Registration Process
    • Why you should file your trademark in China now
    • Why is a Trademark Watch Important
    • Differences Between Trademark and Copyright
    • Avoiding IP Infringement with Chinese Sourcing
    • Cracking down trademark squatters under amended trademark law in China
    • How China is acting to combat bad faith trademarks
    • Intellectual Property protection when doing business in China
    • China's intellectual property rights protection improved to create a sound business environment
    • China’s race to become global intellectual property leader
    • China strengthens intellectual property rights protection prior to Beijing 2022
    • Important Trademark Development from China for 2022: What US Brand Owners Need to Know
    • How to Protect Trademarks in China
    • A simple guide to intellectual property in China
    • An Overview of the Latest Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law
    • What We Do When Trademark Squatters Get Smarter in China
    • The most important patent and IP business developments in China in 2021
    • A simple guide to trademark registration in China
    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
    • How To Enforce Intellectual Property Rights In China
    • What China’s new patent laws mean for life sciences
    • China extends lead over U.S. in global patents filings, U.N. says
    • What Do China’s High Patent Numbers Really Mean
    • How to Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights in China
    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
    • Procedure of filing trademark in China
    • The Importance of Having a Chinese Brand Name
    • Why Does Hong Kong Attract International Businesses
    • What’s the Difference Between Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks
    • How to initiate a trademark infringement civil proceedings in China
    • How to Brand your products for the Huge China Market and Reduce Your Risk
    • 8 Trademark Mistakes Your Start-Up Must Avoid
    • What’s the Difference Between OEM and ODM Products
    • What the amendment to Article 4 of the Chinese Trademark Law means for bad-faith trademark filings
    • China starts rebuff of various metaverse trademark applications amid rush to hype the internet’s next generation
    • China, US and Hong Kong trademarks – A quick guide
    • Working with Chinese Trademark Agencies – A Dangerous Game, or Delicate Tightrope
    • China will improve its IP system
    • 12 Intellectual property Protection Tip
    • How to protect your brand in China
    • China Trademark And Brand Development Index 2021: Which Are China's Top Provinces
    • Must I Register My Company Name as a Trademark in China?
    • What You Need to Know About China Trademark Registration as a Foreigner
    • How to File a Trademark in China
    • How to Register a Patent in China
    • How to effectively deal with the preemptive registered trademark in China
    • China’s Trademark Regime: How to Protect Your Brand in the Mainland
    • China Issues Stricter Rules on Trademark Use
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Patent protection in one country doesn’t necessarily imply its extension in others. So, for example, an invention protected in your country can be copied and produced in China. By the time you’ll be ready to expand your business in China, you simply won’t be able to sue infringers and prove the damage by their illegal activities, if your invention is not protected.

As in many other countries, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) grants patents to the “first-to-file” applicants, not the “first-to-use” ones. Therefore it’s crucial to protect your invention in China as early as possible.
The authority grants three types of patents:
  • An invention patent protects mainly technical solutions that have to be new, possible to implement and nonobvious. If a patent is granted, it is protected for 20 years from the filing date or priority date (whichever is earlier).
  • A utility model patent is for solutions related to new shapes, structural physical features, or a combination of both. The term of protection is 10 years from the filing date.
  • A design patent is granted for unique designs related to the shape, pattern, color or a combination of them. The design will be protected for 15 years from the filing date.
​According to China’s Patent Law, you can’t get patent protection for the following:
  • Scientific discoveries;
  • Rules and methods for intellectual activities;
  • Methods for the diagnosis or treatment of diseases;
  • Animal or plant varieties;
  • Substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation, or methods of nuclear transformation;
  • Designs that are used mainly for marking a pattern, a color, or a combination of the two, on prints.
​Software programs also can’t be protected in China. However, the patent can be granted for software programs combined with hardware.
Three Ways to File a Patent
  • A patent may be filed directly in China with the help of a patent agency or patent attorney;
  • An international patent application can be filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), indicating China as one of the designated states. So the application must be submitted to the patent office in China no later than 30 months from the priority date;
  • Filing a patent in a foreign country first and then filing a second application in China within 12 months for invention and utility model patents and 6 months for design patents. Thus you’ll be able to claim the priority date of the first application. A foreign country must be a Member State of the Paris Convention.
Application and Required Documents
 
Foreign patent applicants who don’t have business offices in China are required to submit their applications through a registered Chinese patent agent. You can easily find a Chinese IP professional in the iPNOTE marketplace.

​The application and all the following documents must be in Chinese:
Invention and utility model patents
​
  • Name of the invention;
    Name and address of the applicant;
    Name and address of the inventor;
  • Description of the protection scope of the invention;
    Key technical aspects of the patent;
  • Specifications, i.e. written details and features of the invention;
    Drawings, i.e. illustration of structure or details of the patent.
Design patents

  • Name of the design;
  • Name and address of the applicant;
  • Name and address of the designer;
  • Drawings or photographs of the designed product;
    Description of design appearance.
​The application can be hand-delivered or mailed to the CNIPA office in Beijing or you can file it via the CNIPA’s representative offices located in provincial intellectual property offices. The easiest way, however, is to submit the application online on the website of CNIPA.
Examination Process
 
After the application is obtained, CNIPA conducts a preliminary examination to determine if the requirements are met. If there are no reasons to reject the application, in the case of utility model and design patents, the authority grants a patent.

When it comes to the invention patent, if the Patent Office is satisfied on a preliminary examination, the patent can also be issued. However, if the applicant is willing to conduct a substantive examination, the Patent Office may proceed with it. The request has to be made within three years from the filing date.

If the application is rejected, the applicant can start reexamination of the application via the Re-examination and Invalidation Department of the Patent Office (RIDPO) of CNIPA no later than three months after being notified of the rejection.
When Patent is Granted
 
When the Patent Office notifies the applicant about obtaining a patent right, he or she is required to formally register the patent within two months from the date of notification. After that, a patent certificate will be issued and announced. The formality is crucial to follow as if failed, the patent will be treated as abandoned.

Use this guide to learn about applicable fees during the patent registration process in China.
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  • Home
  • About
  • IP Services
    • Trademark
    • Patent
    • Utility Model
    • Design
    • Copyright
  • Translation
  • News
    • Why do you need to register a trademark in China
    • What do you need to do to register a Chinese trademark
    • The Difference Between Copyright, Trademark and Patent
    • How And Why To Trademark In China
    • How do I protect myself from Intellectual Property Theft in China
    • How To Protect Your Intellectual Propery (IP) Rights In China
    • 7 Steps to Protect Your Intellectual Property in China
    • China is strengthening intellectual property protection
    • What should a foreign business know about filing a trademark in China
    • A Guide to the Chinese Trademark Registration Process
    • Why you should file your trademark in China now
    • Why is a Trademark Watch Important
    • Differences Between Trademark and Copyright
    • Avoiding IP Infringement with Chinese Sourcing
    • Cracking down trademark squatters under amended trademark law in China
    • How China is acting to combat bad faith trademarks
    • Intellectual Property protection when doing business in China
    • China's intellectual property rights protection improved to create a sound business environment
    • China’s race to become global intellectual property leader
    • China strengthens intellectual property rights protection prior to Beijing 2022
    • Important Trademark Development from China for 2022: What US Brand Owners Need to Know
    • How to Protect Trademarks in China
    • A simple guide to intellectual property in China
    • An Overview of the Latest Amendment to the Chinese Patent Law
    • What We Do When Trademark Squatters Get Smarter in China
    • The most important patent and IP business developments in China in 2021
    • A simple guide to trademark registration in China
    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
    • How To Enforce Intellectual Property Rights In China
    • What China’s new patent laws mean for life sciences
    • China extends lead over U.S. in global patents filings, U.N. says
    • What Do China’s High Patent Numbers Really Mean
    • How to Protect Your Intellectual Property Rights in China
    • Protecting your intellectual property in China
    • Procedure of filing trademark in China
    • The Importance of Having a Chinese Brand Name
    • Why Does Hong Kong Attract International Businesses
    • What’s the Difference Between Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks
    • How to initiate a trademark infringement civil proceedings in China
    • How to Brand your products for the Huge China Market and Reduce Your Risk
    • 8 Trademark Mistakes Your Start-Up Must Avoid
    • What’s the Difference Between OEM and ODM Products
    • What the amendment to Article 4 of the Chinese Trademark Law means for bad-faith trademark filings
    • China starts rebuff of various metaverse trademark applications amid rush to hype the internet’s next generation
    • China, US and Hong Kong trademarks – A quick guide
    • Working with Chinese Trademark Agencies – A Dangerous Game, or Delicate Tightrope
    • China will improve its IP system
    • 12 Intellectual property Protection Tip
    • How to protect your brand in China
    • China Trademark And Brand Development Index 2021: Which Are China's Top Provinces
    • Must I Register My Company Name as a Trademark in China?
    • What You Need to Know About China Trademark Registration as a Foreigner
    • How to File a Trademark in China
    • How to Register a Patent in China
    • How to effectively deal with the preemptive registered trademark in China
    • China’s Trademark Regime: How to Protect Your Brand in the Mainland
    • China Issues Stricter Rules on Trademark Use
    • News
    • News
  • Contact