1. What is a patent?

A: The patent can be understood as a common law, and the specific technical solutions that meet the novelty, creativity and practicality, or the specific design schemes that conform to the novelty, the aesthetics and the legality are submitted through the agent's finishing and processing, and after a certain law. The review and defense of the procedure, and finally the various inventions and designs that are protected in the form approved by national law, the patent right is a type of intellectual property.

2. What kinds of patents are there in China? What does each mean?

A: According to Article 2 of the Patent Law, patent applications are divided into three types: invention, utility model and design:

Invention: A new technical solution proposed by a product, method or improvement;

Utility model: a new technical solution suitable for practical use of the shape, structure or combination of the product;

Design: A new design that is aesthetically pleasing to the shape, pattern or combination of the product and the combination of color and shape and pattern.

3. What does the patent "three sexes" mean (what are the substantive conditions for granting patent rights)?  

A: According to Article 22 of the Patent Law, inventions and utility models that grant patent rights should be novel, creative and practical.

Novelty means that no invention or utility model has been published in domestic and foreign publications, publicly used in the country or otherwise known to the public before the filing date, nor has the same invention or utility model been used by others. The application was filed with the patent administration department under the State Council and recorded in the patent application documents published after the filing date.

Creativity refers to the outstanding substantive features and significant progress of the invention compared to the technology that existed before the filing date. The utility model has substantial features and progress.

Practicality means that the invention or utility model can be manufactured or used, and can produce a positive effect.

4. What application documents should be submitted to the patent administration department under the State Council for applying for a patent?

A: The application for a patent should be submitted to the patent administration department under the State Council:

1) If you apply for an invention patent, you should submit: the invention patent request, the specification (with drawings if necessary), the claims, the abstract and the drawings, in duplicate.

 In the case of an invention patent application involving an amino acid or nucleotide sequence, the sequence listing shall be included in the specification, and the sequence listing shall be submitted as a separate part of the specification, and the sequence listing shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of the State Intellectual Property Office. CD or floppy disk. 

2) If applying for a utility model patent, it shall submit: a utility model patent request, a specification, a drawing of the specification, a claim, an abstract and a drawing thereof, each in duplicate. 

3) If you apply for a design patent, you should submit: a request for a design patent, a picture or a photo, in duplicate.

If you want to protect the color, you should also submit a color picture or photo in duplicate. When submitting a picture, both copies should be pictures. If you submit a photo, both should be photos, and you should not mix pictures or photos. If you need to explain the picture or photo, you should submit a brief description of the design in duplicate.

5. What should I pay attention to when filling out and writing the application documents?

  A: There are specific requirements for the filling and writing of the application documents. Applicants can fill in or write their own documents, or they can entrust a patent agency to handle them on their behalf. Although the entrustment of a patent agent is non-mandatory, given the importance of carefully writing the application documents and the legal rigor of the approval process, entrusting a patent agent is worthy of advocacy for applicants with little experience.

6. I have applied for a patent. Can I modify the original application documents now?

A: The active modification and correction of the application documents is also a procedure that the applicant can choose as needed. Utility model and design patent applications are only allowed to be modified within 2 months from the date of application; invention patent applications are only allowed on the date of the request for substantive examination and the receipt of the notice of the invention patent issued by the Patent Office into the substantive examination stage. Proactively modify the application documents within 3 months.

At the same time, according to Article 33 of the Patent Law, the applicant may modify the patent application documents. However, the modification of the invention and utility model patent application documents shall not exceed the scope of the original specification and claims, and the design patent application The modification of the document must not exceed the scope of the original picture or photo representation.

7. After my patent application is authorized, is there nothing left, what else do I need to do in the future?  

A: After a patent application is granted a patent, the patentee shall prepay the annual fee for the next year one month before the expiration of each patent year. If the payment is not paid or paid in full, the company shall pay the late payment fee in addition to the annual fee, but if it is still not paid or paid within 6 months, the patent right shall be terminated from the date of expiration of the annual fee payable.

At present, our company is responsible for tracking and monitoring the authorized patents of the principals, and paying various fees to the official every time, and the agency service fees are extra.

 8. How do the relevant official fees for patent applications be paid to the state?

A: The application fee and other fees can be paid directly to the State Intellectual Property Office's toll collection office or the patent agency, or through the bank or post office.

At present, all the applications that are entrusted to our company will be paid by the company to the state on behalf of the applicant in accordance with the relevant regulations.

If the applicant chooses to pay the official fees on his own, resulting in overpayment, repayment, wrong payment, and payment but not paid, the consequences shall be borne by the applicant.

 9. I applied for a patent and I am now authorized. What rights do I have as a future patentee?

A: This is a matter of patent content. It is generally believed that patent rights include the following:

1) Exclusive implementation rights: refers to the exclusive right of the patentee to manufacture, sell or use its patented products or patent methods in accordance with the law;

2) Import right: refers to the right of the patentee to import imported patent products for the purpose of business operation without the permission or authorization of the patent right within the validity period of the patent right;

3) Transfer right: The right of the patentee to transfer the ownership of the patent obtained by the patentee to another person;

4) Implementation of the license: refers to the right of the patentee to permit others to implement their patents and collect royalties through the implementation of the license contract;

5) Right to waive: means the right of the patentee to waive his or her patent right at any time before the expiration of the term of protection, in writing or without paying an annual fee;

6) Marking right: The patentee has the right to make a patent mark and patent number on the patented product or on the packaging of the product, on the container, on the manual, and on the product advertisement.

10. The patent I applied for is authorized. Is the patent indefinite? When is it terminated?

A: Regardless of any country, patents are of course limited. It is impossible to monopolize a technology without deadline. Otherwise, we may use one item per life, and every production activity must be directed to one. The patentee pays the usage fee.

The termination of the patent right may be divided according to the reasons for its termination: (1) termination of the term: the invention patent right shall be maintained for 20 years from the date of filing, and the utility model or design patent right shall remain for 10 years from the date of filing and shall be terminated according to law; (2) Termination of unpaid fees: If the patentee fails to pay or pay the annual fee and late payment fee as required, the patent right shall be terminated from the date of expiration of the previous year.

 11. How do your agents generally respond to various notices from the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office?

A: The deadline for responding is the same. The consequences of overdue and non-response are the same.

For the issues indicated in the review notice, the classification is answered one by one. The reply may indicate that you agree with the examiner's opinion, make corrections according to the review opinions or modify the application; you may also disagree with the examiner's opinion and give opinions and reasons for the defense and statement.

Defects in the form or procedure may generally be eliminated by correcting the defects; obvious defects are generally difficult to eliminate by correction or modification, and in most cases, they can only defend and state opinions on whether they exist or are obvious defects.

The amendments or amendments to the invention or utility model patent application shall not exceed the scope of the original specification and claims, and the modification of the design patent application shall not exceed the scope of the original picture or photo. The modification file should submit the replacement page in the prescribed format.

The response should be submitted in the prescribed format. Such as submitting a revised statement or a statement of opinion. Whether the applicant uses the supplementary or opinion statement should be selected according to the requirements of the examiner. The general correction form problem or the formality problem uses the correction book, and the substantive statement of the application is used to modify the application statement. The applicant disagrees with the examiner's opinion and uses the opinion statement when making a defense.

 12. My patent application was deemed to have been withdrawn for some reason. Is there any way I can remedy it?

A: If the application is not completed within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn and the Patent Office will issue a notice of withdrawal. If the applicant has a valid reason, he may, within 2 months from the date of receipt of the notice of withdrawal, request the Patent Office to restore the right and explain the reasons. Where a request for restoration of rights is made, the "Restoration Claim Form" shall be submitted in two copies to explain the justification for the delay period, and to re-submit all unfinished procedures that should be completed and to pay the fees to be paid. The reissuance procedures and reimbursement fees should generally be completed within the above 2 months.

 13. Can my two inventions be applied for in a patent application? If I do this, have I saved a certain amount of application fees?

A: An invention or utility new patent application should be limited to an invention or utility model. Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to one general inventive concept can be proposed as one application.

A design patent application shall be limited to one design used for one product, and two or more designs for products of the same category and sold or used in sets may be filed as one application.

 14. If you apply for a patent in China, you can be protected worldwide.

A: Since the patent right is the right granted by the patent examination and approval institutions of various countries or regions according to law, the laws on which each country or region is based are not the same, and the examination and approval institutions and the approval procedures are not the same. Therefore, the patent rights are regional. That is, in a country or region to apply for and approve the granted patent rights, only exclusive rights, exclusive rights and exclusive rights in the country. Therefore, applying for a patent in China is only protected in China and does not mean that it is protected worldwide.

15. What has been done by others infringing my patent rights?

A: If your patent is maliciously infringed by others, you can do the following:

   1) Firstly obtain the other party's products through legal channels. Please have an experienced patent agent or lawyer to make a technical comparison of the products, and finally judge whether the other party's products constitute infringement on your patented products;

   2) In the judgment of the other party's product is suspected of infringement, if your patent right is a utility model or design patent right, first go to the State Intellectual Property Office to do a search report for the utility model or design patent; at the same time further investigate and collect the other party The evidence of infringement is prepared for requesting the patent management authority to handle or prosecute to the people's court;

   3) Entrust a lawyer or agent to request the patent management authority to handle or directly file a lawsuit with the local intermediate people's court;

   4) When choosing to sue in the people's court, it may be decided according to the circumstances to request the court to carry out the relevant property or evidence preservation.

 16. What should I do if I am sued by others for infringing on the patent rights of others?

A: Don't be nervous when you are sued by others for infringing the patents of others. The following measures can be taken:

  1) First search the patent office or the agency to search for the other party's patent documents, and ask the agent or lawyer to make a technical comparison of the claims or design pictures in your product and patent documents to determine the possibility of infringement;

  2) After judging that your product is suspected of infringing the patent rights of others, the other party's patents shall be subject to relevant invalid search, collect the same or similar technology before the patent application date of the other party, and request the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right invalid. And ask the court to suspend the trial until the patent reviewer makes a review decision; if the evidence you receive is obviously unfavorable to you, you should take the necessary measures in time to stop the production and sale of the product;

  3) Carry out technical research on the patented technology, develop products with more advanced technology and better technical effects, and apply for patents in time, and obtain the right to use the patent through cross-licensing;

  4) Learn the lesson and develop products with the main intellectual property rights.

 17. What should I do if I have delayed the payment of the annual fee for special reasons?

A: If you miss the time to pay the annual fee, you can pay it within six months from the date of application, but you have to pay late fees. If it exceeds six months, you can go through the formalities for the restoration of rights to the State Intellectual Property Office within two months of receiving the notice of termination of the patent, and pay the annual fee and the recovery fee. If the above time has been exceeded, the patent right is terminated and cannot be resumed. The applicant can only re-apply after improving it.

 18. If the Patent Office rejects the application, what should the applicant do not accept?

A: If the application is rejected after the substantive examination, the applicant may request a review from the Patent Reexamination Board within three months from the date of receipt of the notice. The request for review shall state the reasons and attach supporting documents. After review by the Patent Reexamination Board, a decision is made and the patent applicant is notified. If the patent applicant is dissatisfied with the review decision of the Patent Reexamination Board, he may sue the people's court within three months from the date of receipt of the notice.

 19. What are the scope of protection of patent rights?

A: The scope of protection of an invention or utility model patent is subject to the content of the claims, and the specification and drawings may be used to interpret the claims. The scope of protection of the design patent shall be based on the patented product of the design in the picture or photograph. After the invention patent or utility model patent is granted, the patentee has the right to stop anyone from manufacturing, using, promising to sell, sell or import the patented product for the purpose of production or operation without the permission of the patentee, or using the patented method, or using , promise to sell, sell or import products obtained directly by patented methods. After the design patent is granted, the patentee has the right to stop anyone from manufacturing, selling or importing a design patented product for the purpose of production and operation without the permission of the patentee.

 20. How to apply for a patent from a foreign country?

A: The inventions and creations completed by Chinese applicants in China can only apply for patents from foreign countries only after they have applied for patents in China.

If a Chinese unit submits a patent application to the Chinese Patent Office, if it decides to apply for a patent to a foreign country, it shall submit a patent application to the foreign country to the relevant competent department of the State Council (ie, the relevant department, commission, bureau or head office of the State Council under the jurisdiction of the industry). request. After the examination and approval, the patent can be applied to the foreign country.

If a Chinese individual filed a patent application with the Chinese Patent Office for his non-service invention, he/she should make a request to the Chinese Patent Office if he decides to apply for a patent from a foreign country. After the examination and approval, the patent can be applied to the foreign country.

To apply for a patent to a foreign country, it shall be entrusted to a foreign-related patent agency designated by the State Council. At present, our company undertakes this business.