Detailed Implementation Rules for Patent Law (2010 Revision)

(Issued by the Order of the State Council No.306 on June 15, 2001; first amendment according to the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Detailed Implementation Rules for Patent Law, which has been adopted on December 28, 2002; second amendment according to the Decision of the State Council on Amending the Detailed Implementation Rules for Patent Law, which has been adopted on January 9, 2010; these Detailed Implementation Rules shall come into force on February 1, 2010.)

Part 1 General Provisions

Article 1 The present Rules are formulated in accordance with the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China. (hereinafter referred to as the "Patent Law").

Article 2 The kinds of procedures stipulated in the Patent Law and the present Rules shall be carried out in writing or in another form prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority.

Article 3 All documents submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and the present Rules shall be in Chinese. Where the State has prescribed unified scientific and technical terminology, the standard terms shall be used. If there is no unified Chinese translation for a foreign personal or place name or foreign scientific or technical term, the original term shall be indicated.
If any certificate or supporting document submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and the present Rules is in a foreign language, the State Council's patent administration authority may require the party concerned to supply a Chinese translation within a prescribed time limit if it considers this to be necessary. If the translation is not supplied within the time limit, such certificate or supporting document shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 4 The postmark date of a document mailed to the State Council's patent administration authority shall be the date of submission. If the postmark date is unclear, the date of receipt of the document by the State Council's patent administration authority shall be the date of submission, unless the party concerned can supply evidence regarding the date of mailing.
Documents of the State Council's patent administration authority may be served on a party by mail, direct delivery or otherwise. If the party has appointed a patent agency, documents shall be delivered to the patent agency. If the party has not appointed a patent agency, documents shall be delivered to the contact person designated in the request.
Documents mailed by the State Council's patent administration authority shall be assumed to have been received by the party concerned after a lapse of 15 days from the date of sending.
The date of service of documents that regulations of the State Council's patent administration authority require to be delivered directly shall be the date of delivery.
If the address to which a document is to be sent is unclear and the document cannot be mailed, the documents may be served on the party concerned by public announcement. Such document shall be deemed to have been served after the lapse of one month from the date of the announcement.

Article 5 The first day of any time limit stipulated in the Patent Law or the present Rules shall not be calculated as part of the time limit. If a time limit is calculated in years or months, the corresponding day of the last month of such time limit shall be the date of expiration. If there is no corresponding day in such month, the last day of that month shall be the date of expiration. If the date of expiration of a time limit is a statutory holiday or on a weekend, the first working day following the holiday or weekend shall be the date of expiration.

Article 6 Where a party fails to observe a time limit stipulated in the Patent Law or the present Rules or a time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority due to an event of force majeure, and consequently forfeits his rights, he may within two months from the date of elimination of the obstacle, but not later than within two years from the date of expiration of the time limit, request the State Council's patent administration authority to restore his rights.
In addition to the circumstance stipulated in the preceding paragraph, where a party fails to observe a time limit stipulated in the Patent Law or the present Rules or a time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority for legitimate reasons, and consequently forfeits his rights, he may within two months from the date of receipt of a notice from the State Council's patent administration authority request such authority to restore his rights.
Where a party requests to restore his rights according to the preceding two paragraphs, he shall submit a request letter for restoration containing an explanation of the reasons, accompany the request letter with relevant supporting documents where necessary, and carry out all relevant procedures that should be carried out before deprivation of the rights; where the party requests to restore his rights according to the second paragraph, he shall pay the fee for the restoration request.
If a party requests extension of a time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority, he shall explain the reasons to the State Council's patent administration authority and carry out the relevant procedure prior to the expiration of the time limit.
The provisions of the first and second paragraphs hereof shall not apply to the time limits stipulated in Articles 24, 29, 42 and 68 of the Patent Law.

Article 7 If an application for a patent involves the interest of national defense and needs to be kept confidential, such patent application shall be accepted and examined by the national defense patent organization. Invention patent applications accepted by the State Council's patent administration authority that involve the interest of national defense and need to be kept confidential shall in a timely manner be transferred to the national defense patent organization for examination. Where the national defense patent organization finds no reason to object upon examination, the State Council's patent administration authority shall make a decision granting the national defense patent.
Where the State Council’s patent administration deems that an invention or utility model patent application involves national security or another significant interest other than national defense and needs to be kept confidential, it shall make a decision on keeping such application confidential and notify the applicant in time. Special procedures for the examination and reexamination of a confidential patent application and invalidation of a confidential patent shall be stipulated by the Council’s patent administration otherwise.

Article 8 For the purpose of Article 20 of the Patent Law, inventions or utility models completed in China shall mean inventions or utility models whose technical solutions to a material extent are completed in China.
Where any work unit or individual applies for a foreign patent with respect to an invention or utility model completed in China, it or he shall request the State Council’s patent administration to conduct a confidentiality examination in the following means:
1. where it or he files a patent application directly with a foreign country or an international patent application directly with the relevant foreign organization, it or he shall first submit a request to the State Council’s patent administration and explain its or his technical solutions in detail;
2. where after filing a patent application with the State Council’s patent administration, it or he intends to file a patent application with a foreign country or an international patent application with the relevant foreign organization, it or he shall submit a request to the State Council’s patent administration before filing the foresaid patent application or international patent application.
Where an international patent application is filed with the State Council’s patent administration, a request for confidentiality examination shall be deemed submitted simultaneously.

Article 9 Where the State Council’s patent administration receives a request submitted in accordance with Article 8 of the present Rules and deems upon examination that such invention or utility model may involve national security or significant interests and therefore needs to be kept confidential, it shall issue a notice on confidentiality examination to the applicant in time; where the applicant does not receive such notice within four months after the date of submission of the request, it or he may file a patent application with the foreign country or file an international patent application with the relevant foreign organization with respect to the invention or utility model.
Where the State Council’s patent administration carries out a confidentiality examination according to the preceding paragraph, it shall make a decision on whether confidentiality will be needed and notify the applicant in time. Where the applicant does not receive a decision on confidentiality within six months after the date of submission of the request, it or he may file a patent application with the foreign country or file an international patent application with the relevant foreign organization with respect to the invention or utility model.

Article 10 For the purposes of Article 5 of the Patent Law, inventions or creations that violate State law do not include inventions or creations only the working of which is prohibited under State law.

Article 11 For the purposes of the Patent Law, except for the circumstances stipulated in Articles 28 and 42 thereof, the term "date of application", if the application has priority, shall mean the date of priority.
For the purposes of the present Rules, the term "date of application" shall mean the application date specified in Article 28 of the Patent Law, unless otherwise specified.

Article 12 The phrase in Article 6 of the Patent Law "a service invention or creation completed in executing a task of one's work unit" shall mean an invention or creation made:
1. in the course of one's job;
2. in the performance of a task assigned by one's work unit other than in the course of one's job; or
3. within one year of retirement or transfer from the original work unit or of termination of the labor or employment relationship, where the invention or creation is related to the job held or a task assigned by the original work unit.
The term in Article 6 of the Patent Law "one's work unit" shall include a work unit for which one works on a temporary basis. The phrase "material and technical conditions of one's work unit" shall refer to the work unit's funds, equipment, parts, components, raw materials, or technical information not made public, etc.

Article 13 The term "inventor" or "designer" shall mean a person that makes creative contributions to the essential features of an invention or creation. Persons that are responsible only for organizing the work, that only facilitate the use of material and technical conditions, or that only engage in other support work during the course of accomplishment of an invention or creation are not inventors or designers.

Article 14 Where a patent right is transferred other than according to Article 10 of the Patent Law, the parties shall carry out the procedures for a change in patentee with the State Council's patent administration authority on the strength of the relevant supporting document or legal instrument.
A patent licensing contract concluded by the patentee with another party shall be submitted to the State Council's patent administration authority for recordation within three months from the date on which the contract enters into effect.
Where a patent right is pledged, the pledger and pledgee shall carry out the procedures for registering the pledge with the State Council’s patent administration authority.

Part 2 Application for a Patent

Article 15 When an application for a patent is made in writing, the application documents shall be filed with the State Council's patent administration authority in duplicate.
When an application for a patent is made in another form specified by the State Council's patent administration authority, such application shall comply with the specified requirements.
If an applicant has appointed a patent agency to apply to the State Council's patent administration authority for a patent and handle other patent matters, the power of attorney specifying the scope of the power entrusted shall be submitted at the same time.
If there are two or more applicants and they have not appointed a patent agency, the first applicant indicated on the request shall be their representative, unless otherwise stated in the request.

Article 16 An application request for an invention, a utility model or a design patents shall specify the following items:
1. title of the invention, utility model or design;
2. if the applicant is a Chinese work unit or individual, its or his name, address, post code, and organization code or ID card number; if the applicant is a foreign enterprise or other organization, its name, nationality or the country or region in which it is registered;
3. name of the inventor or designer;
4. if the applicant has appointed a patent agency, the name and agency code of the appointed agency and the name, professional license number and contact telephone number of the appointed patent agent;
5. if priority is claimed, the date of application and application number of the patent application that was filed first (the "Earlier Application"), and the name of the authority who originally accepted the application;
6. the signature or seal of the applicant or patent agency;
7. the list of application documents;
8. the list of appended documents; and
9. other relevant particulars that need to be indicated.

Article 17 The description in an application for a patent for an invention or utility model shall indicate the title of the invention or utility model, which shall be consistent with the title stated in the request. The description shall include the following particulars:
1. technical field: the technical field to which the technical solution for which protection is requested pertains shall be specified;
2. background art: the background art useful for the understanding, searching and examination of the invention or utility model shall be specified and, where possible, the documents reflecting such background art shall be cited;
3. disclosure of the invention: the technical problem(s) to be solved by the invention or utility model, the technical solution adopted to resolve such technical problem(s) and the advantageous effects of the invention or utility model in comparison with prior art shall be specified;
4. description of the drawings: if the description contains drawings, a brief description shall accompany each drawing; and
5. the specific mode for carrying out the invention or utility model: a detailed description of the best mode contemplated by the applicant for carrying out the invention or utility model shall be indicated; where appropriate, such description shall be done in terms of examples with reference to the drawings, if any.
Applicants for patents for inventions or utility models shall write a description in the manner and sequence provided above, with each part thereof preceded by a heading, unless, due to the nature of the invention or utility model, a different manner or different sequence can reduce the length of the description and enable others to accurately understand the invention or utility model.
The description of an invention or utility model shall be worded in standard Chinese and be written clearly, and may not contain such references as "as described in claim..." or contain commercial advertising terms.
If an invention patent application contains one or more nucleotide or amino acid sequences, the description shall include a sequence listing complying with the regulations of the State Council's patent administration authority. The applicant shall submit such sequence listing as a separate part of the description and a duplicate of such sequence listing in computer readable form in accordance with the regulations of the State Council's patent administration authority.
The description of a utility model shall contain drawings indicating the shape, structure or combination of the two of the product claimed to be protected.

Article 18 Several drawings of an invention or utility model shall be arranged in numerical order as "Figure 1, Figure 2, ...".
Reference characters that are not mentioned in the text of the invention or utility model description may not appear in the drawings, and reference characters that do not appear in the drawings may not be mentioned in the text of the description. Those reference characters in the application documents that refer to the same constituent parts shall be consistent.
Drawings shall not contain any explanatory notes other than words that are indispensable.

Article 19 Claims shall describe the technical characteristics of the invention or utility model.
If a letter of claim contains several claims, the claims shall be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals.
Technical terminology used in a letter of claim shall be consistent with that used in the description. Claims may contain chemical or mathematical formulas, but no illustrations. Unless absolutely necessary, the phrases "as described in part ... of the description", or "as illustrated in Figure ..." may not be used.
In setting forth technical features in claims, appropriate references in the description's drawings may be cited. Such references shall be placed in brackets after the corresponding technical feature, to aid understanding of the claim. Reference characters may not be interpreted as restrictions of the claim.

Article 20 Letters of claim shall have an independent claim and may also have dependent claims.
The independent claim shall reflect the entire technical solution that an invention or utility model offers and record the technical features necessary for resolving the technical problem.
Dependent claims shall further restrict the claims cited by using additional technical features.

Article 21 The independent claim for an invention or utility model shall include a preamble and a features section, which shall be written in accordance with the following provisions:
1. preamble: specifying the title of the subject matter of the technical solution that is offered by the invention or utility model for which protection is requested and those necessary technical features of the subject matter of the invention or utility model that it has in common with the prior art to which it is most closely related;
2. features section: specifying, by using the expression "it is characterized by ......" or similar expressions, the technical features of the invention or utility model that differ from the prior art to which it is most closely related; taken together, these features and those described in the preamble shall define the scope of protection claimed for the invention or utility model.
If, owing to its nature, it is inappropriate to describe an invention or utility model in the above manner, independent claims for it may be written in another form.
Only one independent claim shall be made for one invention or utility model. Such claim shall precede the dependent claims for the same invention or utility model.

Article 22 Dependent claims for an invention or utility model shall contain a reference portion and a limitation portion, which shall be written in accordance with the following provisions:
1. reference portion: specifying the serial number(s) of the claim(s) referred to and the title(s) of its (their) subject matter;
2. limitation portion: specifying additional technical features of the invention or utility model.
Dependent claims may refer only to the preceding claim(s). A multiple dependent claim that refers to two or more claims may refer to the preceding claims in the alternative only and may not serve as the basis for any other multiple dependent claim.

Article 23 A description abstract shall consist of a summary of the disclosure as contained in the patent application for the invention or utility model, i.e. it shall specify the title of the invention or utility model and the technical field to which it pertains, and clearly reflect the technical problem to be solved, the gist of the technical solution to such problem and the principal use(s) of the invention or utility model.
Description abstracts may include the chemical formula that best characterizes the invention. For a patent application with drawings, the drawing that best characterizes the technical features of the invention or utility model shall be provided as well. The scale and clarity of drawings shall be such as to ensure that all details of the drawings are still clearly distinguishable when the drawings are reduced in size to 4 cm x 6 cm. The textual portion of the abstract may not exceed 300 Chinese characters. No commercial advertising terminology may be used in the abstract.

Article 24 If an invention for which a patent application is made involves a new biological material that is not available to the public and cannot be described in such a manner as to enable the invention to be carried out by a person skilled in the art, the application shall comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and the present Rules and, in addition, the applicant shall carry out the following procedures:
1. deposit, prior to the date of application or at the latest on the date of application (if he has priority, the date of application shall be the date of priority), a sample of the biological material with the depositary institution designated by the State Council's patent administration authority and submit, at the time of application or at the latest within four months of the date of application, the certificate of deposit and certificate of survival issued by the depositary institution; if the certificates are not submitted within the time limit, no sample shall be deemed to have been deposited;
2. provide, in the application documents, information on the characteristics of the biological material; and
3. if the patent application involves the deposit of a sample of the biological material, specify in the request and the description the taxonomic description (indicating the Latin name) of the said biological material, the name and address of the institution with which the sample of the biological material was deposited, the date of deposit and the serial number of the deposit; if such particulars are not specified at the time of application, they shall be supplied within four months of the date of application; if they are not supplied within the time limit, no sample shall be deemed to have been deposited.

Article 25 Where an invention patent applicant deposits a sample of a biological material according to Article 24 hereof, any work unit or individual that needs to use the biological material involved in the patent application for experimental purposes after the publication of the patent application shall submit a request to the State Council's patent administration authority specifying the following matters:
1. the name and address of the work unit or individual making the request;
2. an undertaking not to supply the said biological material to any other person; and
3. an undertaking to use the biological material only for experimental purposes prior to the grant of the patent right.

Article 26 For the purposes of the Patent Law, inheritance resources shall refer to materials containing inheritance-functioning units that are extracted from human bodies, animals, or plants and have actual or potential values; inventions or creations completed through dependence on inheritance resources shall refer to inventions or creations that are completed by utilizing the inheritance functions of the inheritance resources.
If the applicant files an application for inventions or creations completed through dependence on inheritance resources, it or he shall specify accordingly in the application request and fill out a form formulated by the State Council’s patent administration authority.

Article 27 When the applicant requests protection for colors, color drawings or photographs shall be submitted.
Applicants shall submit relevant views or photographs concerning those contents of each design product that require protection.

Article 28 The brief description of a design shall indicate the name and use of the design product and the key elements of the design, and shall indicate a picture or photo that best indicates the key elements of the design. Where any views are omitted or where protection is requested for colors, such shall be indicated in the brief description.
If an application for a design patent is filed with respect to several similar designs of a single product, the brief description shall designate one of the designs as the basic design.
The brief description may not contain commercial advertising terminology and may not be used to describe the function of the product.

Article 29 When the State Council's patent administration authority considers it necessary, it may require applicants for design patents to submit samples or models of the products incorporating the designs. The volume of a sample or model may not exceed 30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm and its weight may not exceed 15 kg. Articles that are perishable, easily damaged or dangerous may not be submitted as samples or models.

Article 30 According to Item 1 of Article 24 of the Patent Law, the term “international exhibition acknowledged by the Chinese government” shall mean international exhibitions registered under the International Exhibition Bureau or acknowledged by the same in accordance with the Convention on International Exhibitions.
According to Item 2 Article 24 of the Patent Law, the term "academic meetings" or "technological meetings" shall mean academic or technological meetings convened by relevant departments-in-charge of the State Council or by national academic organizations.
If an invention or creation for which a patent is applied for comes under the provisions of Item 1 or Item 2 of Article 24 of the Patent Law, the applicant shall declare the same when filing the application and, within two months of the date of application, submit a document issued by the organizer of the relevant international exhibition or academic or technological meeting attesting that the invention or creation has been exhibited or published, and attesting to the date of exhibition or publication.
Where an invention or creation for which a patent is applied for comes under Item 3 of Article 24 of the Patent Law, the State Council's patent administration authority may require the applicant to submit supporting documents within a prescribed period of time, if it considers such documents necessary.
Where an applicant fails to submit a declaration or supporting documents in accordance with the third paragraph hereof or fails to submit the supporting documents within the prescribed time limit in accordance with the fourth paragraph hereof, the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to his application.

Article 31 If an applicant carries out the procedures for claiming priority in accordance with Article 30 of the Patent Law, the date of application and application number of the patent application that was filed first (the "Earlier Application") and the country that accepted such application shall be specified in the written declaration. If the date of application of the Earlier Application and the country accepting such application are not specified in the written declaration, no declaration shall be deemed to have been submitted.
If foreign priority is claimed, the copies of the Earlier Application documents filed by the applicant shall have been certified by the original accepting authority. If, in accordance with the agreement signed by the State Council’s patent administration authority and said accepting authority, the State Council’s patent administration authority acquires copies of the Earlier Application documents by means such as electronic exchange, the copies of the Earlier Application certified by the accepting authority shall be deemed to have been filed by the applicant. If domestic priority is claimed, the copies of the Earlier Application documents to be filed by the applicant shall be deemed be have been filed if the applicant indicates in the request the date of application and application number of the Earlier Application.
In case priority is claimed but one or two of the date of application, the application number or the original accepting authority of the Earlier Application is omitted or incorrectly indicated in the request, the State Council’s patent administration authority shall notify the applicant to rectify such omission or incorrect indication within a designated time limit; if no rectification is made within said time limit, no priority shall be deemed to have been claimed.
If the name of the applicant claiming priority is different from the name of the earlier applicant recorded in the copies of Earlier Application documents, evidence of the assignment of priority shall be submitted; where no such evidence is submitted, no priority shall be deemed to have been claimed.
Where an applicant of a design patent application claims foreign priority but no brief description of the design is included in its or his Earlier Application, provided that the brief description submitted by the applicant in accordance with Article 28 of the present Rules does not exceed the scope indicated by the pictures or photos in the Earlier Application documents, he or it shall not be affected with respect to enjoying the priority.

Article 32 In one patent application, an applicant may claim one or multiple priorities. If multiple priorities are claimed, the term of priority of the application shall be calculated commencing from the date of the earliest priority.
If an applicant claims domestic priority, and the Earlier Application is an application for an invention patent, an application for an invention or utility model patent may be filed regarding the same subject matter. If the Earlier Application is an application for a utility model patent, an application for a utility model or invention patent may be filed regarding the same subject matter. However, if the subject matter of such Earlier Application is characterized by any of the circumstances set forth below when the later application is filed, the Earlier Application may not be taken as the basis for a claim for domestic priority:
1. foreign or domestic priority has already been claimed;
2. a patent right has already been granted; or
3. the Earlier Application is a divisional application filed in accordance with regulations.
When an applicant claims domestic priority, his Earlier Application shall be deemed withdrawn from the date on which the later application is filed.

Article 33 If an applicant without a habitual residence or place of business in China applies for a patent or claims foreign priority, the State Council's patent administration authority may, where it considers necessary, require the applicant to provide the following documents:
1. if the applicant is an individual, proof of nationality;
2. if the applicant is an enterprise or another organization, a certificate concerning the country or region in which it is registered;
3. a certificate from the applicant's home country, confirming that work units and individuals from China are entitled to patent rights, priority and other patent-related rights in such country on the same conditions as are such country's nationals.

Article 34 Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to one general inventive concept that may be submitted as one patent application under the first paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law shall be technically interrelated and contain one or more identical or corresponding specific technical features, where the term "specific technical features" refers to the technical features of the contribution that each invention or utility model, as a whole, makes to the prior art.

Article 35 According to Item 2 of Article 31 of the Patent Law, if one application is filed for several similar designs of a single product, the other designs of the product shall be similar to the basic design designated in the brief description. An application for a design patent shall not contain more than ten similar designs.
According to Item 2 of Article 31 of the Patent Law, the term "two or more designs of products of the same class and to be sold or used in sets" shall mean that the products belong to the same subclass in the classification and are customarily sold or used at the same time and that the designs of the products belong to the same design concept.
If one application is filed for two or more designs, each design shall be numbered consecutively and the numbers shall be placed in front of the titles of the pictures or photos of the products using the designs.

Article 36 If an applicant withdraws a patent application, he must declare such withdrawal in writing to the State Council's patent administration authority, specifying the name, application number and date of application of the invention or creation.
If the declaration of withdrawal of an application is submitted after the State Council's patent administration authority has completed the printing preparations for publication of the application documents, the application documents shall still be published. However, the declaration of withdrawal of the application shall be published in the subsequent Patent Gazette.

Part 3 Examination and Approval of Patent Applications

Article 37 Any person conducting an examination or hearing during the procedure for preliminary examination, substantive examination, re-examination or declaration of invalidity, shall recuse himself or may be challenged by a party or another interested person:
1. if he is a close relative of a party or of a party's agent;
2. if he has a material interest in the patent application or patent right;
3. if he has such other relationship with a party or a party's agent as may affect the impartiality of the examination or hearing; or
4. if he is a member of the Patent Re-examination Board and participated in the examination of the original application.

Article 38 Following receipt of the written request, description (that, for a utility model, must contain drawings) and claims in respect of an application for an invention or utility model patent, or following receipt of the written request and drawings or photographs of the design in respect of an application for a design patent, the State Council's patent administration authority shall determine the date of application, assign an application number and notify the applicant.

Article 39 The State Council's patent administration authority shall not accept patent application documents, and shall notify the applicant:
1. if the application for an invention or utility model patent lacks a written request, a description (or, in the case of a utility model, the description lacks drawings) or claims, or the application for a design patent lacks a request, drawings or photographs;
2. if the documents are not in Chinese;
3. if the documents do not conform to the first paragraph of Article 121 hereof;
4. if the written request lacks the name and address of the applicant;
5. if the documents clearly do not conform to Article 18 or the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Patent Law; or
6. if the category (invention, utility model or design) of the patent application is unclear or difficult to determine.

Article 40 If a description contains an explanation of drawings but there are no drawings or a portion of the drawings is missing, the applicant shall submit the drawings or declare the cancellation of the explanation of the drawings, within the time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority. If the applicant submits the drawings, the date of application shall be the date on which the drawings are submitted or mailed to the State Council's patent administration authority. If the applicant cancels the explanation of the drawings, the original date of application shall be retained.

Article 41 If two or more applicants file an application with respect to the same invention or creation on the same date (i.e., the date of application; if priority is concerned, the date of priority), they shall negotiate and determine by themselves which one is the applicant after receiving the notice from State Council's patent administration authority.
If an applicant files applications for both utility model and invention with respect to the same invention or creation on the same date (i.e., the date of application), it or he shall declare that another application for the same invention or creation has been filed when submitting the applications; where no such declaration is filed, the provision under the first paragraph of Article 9 of the Patent Law that only one patent right can be granted for one single invention or creation shall apply.
When publishing the granting of a utility model, the State Council's patent administration authority shall also publish the information that the applicant has applied for an invention patent at the same time in accordance with the second paragraph hereof.
If no reason to object to an application for an invention is found upon examination, the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the applicant to declare its or his waiver of the utility model patent within a designated time limit. Where the applicant so declares the waiver, the State Council's patent administration authority shall make a decision on granting the invention patent and publish the applicant’s declaration of waiver of the utility model patent at the same time when publishing the granting of the invention patent. Where the applicant does not agree to such waiver, the State Council's patent administration authority shall reject such application for invention; where the applicant does not respond by the expiration of the time limit, such application for invention shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
The utility model patent shall expire on the date when granting of the invention patent is published.

Article 42 If one patent application covers two or more inventions, utility models or designs, the applicant may file a divisional application with the State Council's patent administration authority before the expiration of the time limit prescribed in the first paragraph of Article 54 hereof. However, a divisional application may not be filed if a patent application has already been rejected, withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn.
If the State Council's patent administration authority considers that a patent application does not conform to Article 31 of the Patent Law or Articles 34 or 35 hereof, it shall notify the applicant to amend the application within a prescribed time limit. If the applicant does not reply within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Divisional applications may not change the category of the parent applications.

Article 43 Divisional applications filed in accordance with Article 42 hereof may retain the original date of application. If they have right of priority, the date of the right of priority may be retained. However, the scope of the disclosure in the parent application may not be exceeded.
The relevant procedures for divisional applications shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Law and of the present Rules.
The request for divisional application shall specify the application number and date of application of the parent application. When filing a divisional application, the applicant shall submit copies of the parent application documents. If the parent application had right of priority, copies of the right of priority documents for the parent application shall also be submitted.

Article 44 According to Articles 34 and 40 of the Patent Law, the term "preliminary examination" shall mean examination of whether or not a patent application contains the documents specified in Article 26 or 27 of the Patent Law and other necessary documents, whether or not such documents are in the required format, and an examination of the following:
1. whether or not an application for an invention patent clearly comes under Article 5 or 25 of the Patent Law, or does not conform to Article 18, the first paragraph of Article 19, or the first paragraph of Article 20 of the Patent Law; or Article 16 or the second paragraph of Article 26 of the present Rules; or clearly does not conform to the second paragraph of Article 2, the fifth paragraph of Article 26, the first paragraph of Article 31; or Article 33 of the Patent Law; or Articles 17, 18, 19, 20 or 21 of the present Rules;
2. whether or not an application for a utility model patent clearly comes under Article 5 or 25 of the Patent Law, or does not conform to Article 18, the first paragraph of Article 19, or the first paragraph of Article 20 of the Patent Law, or clearly does not conform to the third paragraph of Article 2, the second or fourth paragraphs of Article 22, the third or fourth paragraphs of Article 26, the first paragraph of Article 31 or Article 33 of the Patent Law or Article 20 or the first paragraph of Article 43 of the present Rules, or is not patentable according to Article 9 of the Patent Law; and
3. whether or not an application for a design patent clearly comes under Article 5 or the sixth item of the first paragraph of Article 25 of the Patent Law, or does not conform to Article 18 or the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Patent Law or Article 16, Article 27 or Article 28 of the present Rules, or clearly does not conform to the second paragraph of Article 31 or Article 33 of the Patent Law or the first paragraph of Article 43 of the present Rules, or is not patentable according to Article 9 of the Patent Law.
4. whether or not the application documents conform to Article 2 or the first paragraph of Article 3 of the present Rules.
The State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the applicant of the opinion reached by it upon examination, and request him to state his comments or to make corrections within the prescribed time limit. If the applicant does not reply within the time limit, his application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. If, after the applicant states his comments or makes corrections, the State Council's patent administration authority still considers that the application does not conform to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the application shall be rejected.

Article 45 With the exception of patent application documents, documents relevant to a patent application that are submitted to the State Council's patent administration authority by an applicant shall be deemed not to have been submitted:
1. if the documents are not in the prescribed format or have not been completed in accordance with regulations; or
2. if evidence is not submitted according to regulations.
The State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the applicant if its opinion upon examination is that the documents are deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 46 If an applicant requests early publication of his application for an invention patent, he shall declare the same to the State Council's patent administration authority. The State Council's patent administration authority shall publish the application immediately after preliminary examination, unless it rejects the application.

Article 47 When an applicant specifies the product incorporating a design and the class it belongs to in accordance with Article 27 of the Patent Law, reference shall be made to the classification of design products published by the State Council's patent administration authority. If the class to which a product incorporating a design belongs is not specified, or the class specified is inaccurate, the State Council's patent administration authority may supply or amend the class.

Article 48 Any person may submit comments, with an explanation of the reasons therefore, to the State Council's patent administration authority regarding an application for an invention patent that does not conform to the provisions of the Patent Law, from the date of publication of such patent application until the date of public announcement of the grant of the patent right.

Article 49 If, for legitimate reasons, an applicant for an invention patent cannot submit the search information or the information on the examination result as prescribed in Article 36 of the Patent Law, he shall declare the same to the State Council's patent administration authority and submit the relevant information once obtained.

Article 50 If the State Council's patent administration authority examines a patent application of its own motion according to the second paragraph of Article 35 of the Patent Law, it shall notify the applicant.

Article 51 At the time an applicant for an invention patent submits a request for substantive examination and within three months of the date of receipt of the notice issued by the State Council's patent administration authority stating that the invention patent application has entered the stage of substantive examination, he may amend the patent application on his own initiative.
Applicants for utility model or design patents may amend their applications on their own initiative during a period of two months from the date of application.
If an applicant amends his patent application documents after receipt of the notice giving the opinion upon examination issued by the State Council's patent administration authority, he shall do so in accordance with the requirements of the notice.
The State Council's patent administration authority may itself correct obvious typographical and symbol errors in patent application documents. If the State Council's patent administration authority makes such corrections itself, it shall notify the applicant thereof.

Article 52 Replacement pages shall be submitted, in the prescribed format, for the amended portions of the descriptions or claims in applications for invention or utility model patents, except in the case of amendments, insertions or deletions of individual words. Replacement pages for amendments to drawings or photographs in applications for design patents shall be submitted in accordance with regulations.

Article 53 In accordance with Article 38 of the Patent Law, the circumstances under which applications for invention patents shall be rejected following substantive examination shall be as follows:
1. the application comes under Article 5 or 25 of the Patent Law, or is not patentable according to Article 9 of the Patent Law;
2. the application does not conform to the second paragraph of Article 2, the first paragraph of Article 20, Article 22, the third, fourth or fifth paragraphs of Article 26 or the first paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law or the second paragraph of Article 22 of the present Rules;
3. an amendment to the application does not conform to Article 33 of the Patent Law or the divisional application does not conform to the first paragraph of Article 43 hereof;

Article 54 After the State Council's patent administration authority issues a notice of grant of a patent right, the applicant shall carry out registration procedures within two months from the date of receipt of the notice. If the applicant carries out registration procedures on time, the State Council's patent administration authority shall grant the patent right, issue a patent certificate and gazette the same.
If the applicant does not carry out registration procedures within the time limit, he shall be deemed to have renounced the right to obtain the patent right.

Article 55 If no reason to reject an application for a confidential patent is found upon examination, the State Council's patent administration authority shall make a decision on granting the confidential patent right, issue the patent certificate thereof and register the matters relating to the confidential patent.

Article 56 After a decision to grant a patent right for a utility model or a design has been gazetted, the patentee or interested party stipulated in Article 60 of the Patent Law may make a request to the State Council's patent administration authority to issue a patent evaluation report.
Anyone who makes a request for a patent evaluation report shall submit a written request and indicate the patent number of the patent. Each request shall be limited to one patent only.
If the request for the patent evalution report is found not to conform to the specified requirements, the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the requesting party to correct the same within a prescribed time limit; where no correction is made at the expiration of such time limit, no request shall be deemed to have been submitted.

Article 57 If, upon examination, the request for a utility model patent search report is found to conform with regulations, the State Council's patent administration authority shall issue a patent evaluation report within two months after receiving the request for such patent evaluation report. Where several requesters request a patent evaluation report with respect to the same utility model or design patent, the State Council's patent administration authority shall issue one such patent evaluation report only. Any work unit or individual shall be able to review or copy such patent evaluation report.

Article 58 The State Council's patent administration authority shall correct errors in the Patent Gazette and patent documents as soon as they are discovered and gazette the corrections that it has effected.

Part 4 Re-examination of Patent Applications and Invalidation of Patent Rights

Article 59 The Patent Re-examination Board shall be composed of technical and legal experts designated by the State Council's patent administration authority. The person in charge of the State Council's patent administration authority shall concurrently serve as the chairman of the Patent Re-examination Board.

Article 60 To submit a request for re-examination to the Patent Re-examination Board in accordance with Article 41 of the Patent Law, a written request for re-examination stating the reasons therefore shall be submitted accompanied, if necessary, by the relevant evidence.
If a request for re-examination does not conform to the first paragraph of Article 19 or the first paragraph of Article 41 of the Patent Law, the Patent Re-examination Board shall not accept such a request and shall notify the requester in writing and state the reasons therefore.
If a request for re-examination is not in the prescribed format, the party requesting re-examination shall correct it within the time limit prescribed by the Patent Re-examination Board. If correction is not made within the time limit, the request for re-examination shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 61 When submitting the request for re-examination or responding to the re-examination notice issued by the Patent Re-examination Board, the party making the request may amend his patent application documents provided that the amendments are limited to eliminating the defects indicated in the rejection decision or the re-examination notice.
The amended patent application documents shall be submitted in duplicate.

Article 62 The Patent Re-examination Board shall forward accepted requests for re-examination to the original examination department of the State Council's patent administration authority for examination. If the original examination department agrees to cancel the original decision on the basis of the request for re-examination, the Patent Re-examination Board shall make a corresponding decision upon re-examination and notify the requesting party.

Article 63 If, after re-examination, the Patent Re-examination Board considers that a request for re-examination does not conform to the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and the present Rules, it shall notify the requesting party and require him to state his comments within a prescribed time limit. If no response is made within the time limit, the request for re-examination shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. If, after comments have been stated or amendments made, the Patent Re-examination Board still considers that the request for re-examination does not conform to the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and the present Rules, it shall render a re-examination decision sustaining its original rejection decision.
If, after re-examination, the Patent Re-examination Board considers that the original rejection decision does not conform to the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and the present Rules or that the amendments made to the patent application documents have eliminated the defects indicated in the original rejection decision, it shall revoke the original rejection decision and the original examination authority shall continue the examination procedure.

Article 64 A party requesting re-examination may withdraw such request before the Patent Re-examination Board renders its decision.
The re-examination procedure shall terminate if the party requesting re-examination withdraws its request before the Patent Re-examination Board renders its decision.

Article 65 To request that a patent right be invalidated or partially invalidated according to Article 45 of the Patent Law, a written request for invalidation of a patent right, accompanied by the necessary evidence, shall be submitted in duplicate to the Patent Re-examination Board. The request for invalidation of the patent shall integrate all the evidence submitted therewith, explain the specific reasons for the invalidation request and state the evidence on which each reason is based.
The term "reason for an invalidation request" shall mean that the patented invention or creation does not conform to Article 2, the first paragraph of Article 20, Article 22, Article 23, the third or fourth paragraphs of Article 26, the second paragraph of Article 27, or Article 33 of the Patent Law, or the second paragraph of Article 20 or the first paragraph of Article 43 of the present Rules, or comes under Article 5 or Article 25 of the Patent Law, or is not patentable according to Article 9 of the Patent Law.

Article 66 Where a request for the invalidation of a patent right does not conform to the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Patent Law or Article 65 hereof, the Patent Re-examination Board shall not accept it.
Where another invalidation request is made on the same grounds and with the same evidence after the Patent Re-examination Board has rendered a decision on an invalidation request, the Patent Re-examination Board shall not accept it.
Where a request for invalidation of a design patent right is made on the grounds that the patented design conflicts with the third paragraph of Article 23 of the Patent Law and the party making the request fails to submit evidence proving the conflict of rights, the Patent Re-examination Board shall not accept the request.
Where a request for invalidation of a patent right is not in the prescribed format, the requesting party shall correct it within the time limit prescribed by the Patent Re-examination Board. If correction is not made within the time limit, the invalidation request shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 67 After the Patent Re-examination Board accepts an invalidation request, the party making the request may add to the reasons or supplement the evidence for the request for one month commencing from the date of submission. The Patent Re-examination Board may refuse to consider additional reasons or supplementary evidence submitted after this time limit.

Article 68 The Patent Re-examination Board shall send duplicates of the request for invalidation of a patent right and the relevant documents to the patentee and require the patentee to state his comments within a prescribed time limit.
The patentee and the party requesting the invalidation shall respond within the prescribed time limit to the notice of service of documents or the notice of examination of an invalidation request issued by the Patent Re-examination Board. Failure to respond within the time limit shall not affect the hearing by the Patent Re-examination Board.

Article 69 The patentee of an invention or utility model patent may amend his written claim during the examination procedure for the invalidation request provided that he does not broaden the original scope of patent protection.
The patentee of an invention or utility model patent may not amend his patent description or drawings and the patentee of a design patent may not amend the drawings, photographs or brief description of the design.

Article 70 At the request of the parties or if required by the case, the Patent Re-examination Board may decide to conduct an oral hearing in respect of the invalidation request.
Where the Patent Re-examination Board decides to conduct an oral hearing in respect of the invalidation request, it shall issue a notice for an oral hearing to the parties informing them of the date and place of the oral hearing. The parties shall respond within the time limit prescribed in the notice.
Where the party requesting invalidation fails to respond within the prescribed time limit to the notice for an oral hearing issued by the Patent Re-examination Board and fails to attend the oral hearing, its invalidation request shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. If the patentee fails to attend the oral hearing, such hearing may be conducted ex parte.

Article 71 The time limits prescribed by the Patent Re-examination Board in the course of the examination procedure for an invalidation request may not be extended.

Article 72 A party requesting invalidation may withdraw such request before the Patent Re-examination Board renders its decision on the invalidation request.
The re-examination procedure shall terminate if the party requesting invalidation withdraws his request before the Patent Re-examination Board renders its decision. However, where the Patent Re-examination Board deems that a decision on invalidation or partial invalidation of the patent can be made based on the examination already carried out, the re-examination procedure shall not be terminated.

Part 5 Compulsory License for the working of a patent

Article 73 For the purposes of item 1 of Article 48 of the Patent Law, the term “insufficient implementation of the patent” shall mean that the way or scale in which the patentee and its or his licensee implement the patent can not satisfy the domestic needs for the patented product or patented method.
For the purposes of Article 15 of the Patent Law, “patented medicine” shall mean any patented product or product directly obtained by following the patented method within the field of medicine that may solve public health problems, including patented active ingredients needed for production of the product and diagnosing appliances needed for the use of the product.

Article 74 To request a compulsory license, a written request for a compulsory license stating the grounds for the request and accompanied by the relevant supporting documents shall be submitted in duplicate to the State Council's patent administration authority.
The State Council's patent administration authority shall send the duplicate of the request for a compulsory license to the patentee, who shall state his comments within the time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority. Failure to respond within the time limit shall not affect the rendering of a decision by the State Council's patent administration authority regarding the compulsory license.
Before making the decision rejecting the request for compulsory license or the decision granting the compulsory license, the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the requester and the patentee of the decision to be made and the reasons therefore.
The decision made by the State Council's patent administration authority granting a compulsory license in accordance with Article 50 of the Patent Law shall also conform to the international conventions entered by China with respect to the granting of compulsory licenses for the sake of public health; however, the conventions where China has made reservations shall be excepted.

Article 75 If the State Council's patent administration authority is requested to rule on the amount of the royalty in accordance with Article 57 of the Patent Law, the parties shall submit a written request for the ruling together with a document evidencing that the parties are unable to reach an agreement. The State Council's patent administration authority shall give a ruling on the matter within three months of the date of receipt of the request, and notify the parties.

Part 6 Reward and Remuneration of Inventors or Designers of Service Inventions and Creations

Article 76 A work unit granted a patent right may reach an agreement with the inventor or designer or prescribe within its rules and regulations formulated by law the awards and remuneration and the means and sums thereof as stipulated in Article 16 of the Patent Law.
The awards and remuneration given by enterprises or institutions to the inventor or designer shall follow the relevant financial and accounting systems of the state.

Article 77 Where the work unit granted the patent right has no agreement with the inventor or designer and does not prescribe within its rules and regulations formulated by law the awards and remuneration and the means and sums thereof as stipulated in Article 16 of the Patent Law, it shall give the awards to the inventor or designer within three months after the patent right is published. The monetary award for an invention patent shall not be less than Rmb 3000. The monetary award for a utility model or design patent shall not be less than Rmb 1000.
Where an invention or creation was completed because the work unit to which the inventor or creator belongs accepted his proposal, the work unit granted the patent right shall give a generous monetary award.

Article 78 Where the work unit granted the patent right has no agreement with the inventor or designer and does not prescribe within its rules and regulations formulated by law the awards and remuneration and the means and sums thereof as stipulated in Article 16 of the Patent Law, then after working a patent for an invention or creation within the term of the validity of the patent right, the work unit granted the patent right shall pay the inventor or designer remuneration at a rate of not less than 2% of the annual after-tax profit obtained from working the patent for the invention or utility model or not less than 0.2% of the annual after-tax profit obtained from working the design patent, or pay the designer or inventor a lump sum remuneration by reference to the above percentages. Where the work unit licenses other work units or individuals to work its patent, it shall pay as remuneration to the inventor or designer not less than 10% of the royalties charged therefrom.

Part 7 Patent Protection

Article 79 The term "Patent Administration Authorities" shall mean the patent administration authorities established by the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central government and the people's governments of municipalities divided into districts that have both a large volume of and the actual capability to handle patent administration work.

Article 80 The State Council's patent administration authority shall instruct the Patent Administration Authorities on the handling of patent infringement disputes, finding and punishing passing-off of patent rights and mediation of patent disputes.

Article 81 When a party requests the handling or mediation of a patent dispute, the Patent Administration Authority of the place where the respondent is located or in which the infringement occurred shall have jurisdiction.
In patent disputes where two or more Patent Administration Authorities have jurisdiction, the party concerned may submit his request to any one of the Patent Administration Authorities; if the party concerned submits his request to two or more Patent Administration Authorities that have jurisdiction, the Patent Administration Authority that first accepted the request shall have jurisdiction.
If a conflict over jurisdiction arises between Patent Administration Authorities, the Patent Administration Authority of the people's government to which they are all subordinate shall determine jurisdiction. In cases where there is no Patent Administration Authority of a people's government to which all the Patent Administration Authorities concerned are subordinate, the State Council's patent administration authority shall determine jurisdiction.

Article 82 During the handling of a patent infringement dispute, if the respondent submits an invalidation request and the request is accepted by the Patent Re-examination Board, a request may be made to the Patent Administration Authority to suspend its handling of the dispute.
Where the Patent Administration Authority is of the opinion that the grounds for suspension submitted by the respondent clearly cannot be sustained, it may refuse to suspend its handling of the dispute.

Article 83 Where a patentee affixes its patent marking on its patented product or on the packaging of such product pursuant to Article 17 of the Patent Law, it shall do so in the manner prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority

Article 84 The following acts constitute passing off a third party's patent as stipulated in Article 63 of the Patent Law:
(1) affixing a patent mark on unpatented products or the packaging thereof; continuing to affix the patent mark on the products or the packaging thereof after the patent is invalidated or terminated; or affixing, without a license, a third party's patent number on products one manufactures or sells or the packaging thereof;
(2) selling any of the products stipulated in item (1) above;
(3) claiming an unpatented technology or design as a patented one in materials such as descriptions of the products; claiming a patent application as a patent; or using, without a license, a third party's patent number, thereby causing people to confuse the technology or design involved with the patented technology or design;
(4) forging or altering a certificate, patent documents or patent application documents.
(5) other conducts that may cause people to confuse an unpatented technology or design with a patented technology or design.
Affixing a patent mark before termination of the patent on the patented products or products directly acquired by following the patented method and offering for sale or selling such products shall not be deemed as passing off of the patent.
If a party sells products passing off another’s patent without knowledge of such passing off and may prove the legitimate source of the products, the Patent Administration Authority shall order that the party cease the sales immediately, but no fine shall be imposed.

Article 85 In addition to those stipulated in Article 60 of the Patent Law, Patent Administration Authorities may mediate in the following types of patent disputes at the request of the parties:
(1) disputes over patent application rights and ownership of patent rights;
(2) disputes over the qualifications of inventors and designers;
(3) disputes over the rewarding and remuneration of the inventors and designers of service inventions;
(4) disputes concerning the inadequacy of royalties for the use of an invention after the invention patent application has been published and before the patent has been granted; and
(5) other patent disputes.
Requests to the Patent Administration Authorities by patentees for mediation in the disputes specified in Item (4) of the preceding paragraph shall be submitted after the patent right has been granted.

Article 86 Where a dispute over the ownership of a patent application right or patent right arises and a party has a requested a Patent Administration Authority to handle the matter or instituted an action in a people's court, a request may be made to the State Council's patent administration authority to suspend the relevant procedure.
Where a request is made to suspend the relevant procedure pursuant to the preceding paragraph, a written request accompanied by a duplicate of the acceptance document issued by the Patent Administration Authority or people's court shall be submitted to the State Council's patent administration authority.
After the handling decision of the Patent Administration Authority or the judgment of the people's court has entered into effect, the concerned party shall carry out formalities with the State Council's patent administration authority for resumption of the relevant procedure. If the dispute over the ownership of the patent application right or patent right cannot be resolved within one year of the date of the suspension request and it is necessary to continue the suspension of the relevant procedure, the party making the request shall request an extension of the suspension within the said time limit. If at the expiration of the time limit no request for extension has been made, the State Council's patent administration authority shall automatically resume the relevant procedure.

Article 87 During the hearing of a civil case, if the people's court rules that preservation measures be taken in respect of a patent right, the State Council's patent administration authority shall, while assisting in enforcement, suspend the relevant procedure in which the preserved patent right is involved. If, upon expiration of the term of preservation, the people's court has not ruled that the preservation measures be continued, the State Council's patent administration authority shall automatically resume the relevant procedure.

Article 88 If the State Council's patent administration authority suspects that the relevant procedures in accordance with Article 86 and Article 87 hereof apply, it shall suspend the preliminary and substantial examinations of the patent application, the re-examination procedure, the granting procedure, and the invalidation procedure; it shall also suspend the handling renouncement, change and assignment of patent right or right to apply for patent, patent pledge procedure, and termination prior to expiration of the term of the patent.

Part 8 Patent Registration and Patent Gazette

Article 89 The State Council's patent administration authority shall establish a Patent Register to register the following matters relating to patent registration and patent rights:
(1) grant of patent rights;
(2) transfer of patent application rights and patent rights;
(3) pledge and preservation of patent rights as well as the termination of such pledge or preservation;
(4) recording of licensing contracts for the working of patents;
(5) invalidation of patent rights;
(6) termination of patent rights;
(7) restoration of patent rights;
(8) compulsory licenses for the working of patents;
(9) changes in the names, nationalities or addresses of patentees.

Article 90 The State Council's patent administration authority shall periodically publish a Patent Gazette, in which the following shall be published or announced:
(1) bibliographic items contained in patent applications and abstracts of the descriptions;
(2) requests for substantive examination of patent applications for inventions, and decisions of the State Council's patent administration authority to carry out substantive examinations of patent applications for inventions on its own initiative;
(3) rejection, withdrawal or deemed withdrawal, deemed renouncement, resumption and assignment of an application for an invention patent after its publication;
(4) grant of patent rights and bibliographic items of the patent rights;
(5) abstracts of the descriptions of inventions or utility models, and a drawing or photograph of design patents;
(6) disclosure of national defense patents and confidential patents;
(7) invalidation of patent rights;
(8) termination and resumption of patent rights;
(9) transfer of patent rights;
(10) recording of licensing contracts for the working of patents;
(11) pledge and preservation of patent rights as well as the termination of such pledge or preservation;
(12) grant of compulsory licenses to work patents;
(13) changes in the names or addresses of patentees;
(14) service of documents by means of public announcement;
(15) corrections made by the State Council's patent administration authority; and
(16) other relevant matters.
The descriptions of inventions or utility models, and their drawings and claims, shall be published by the State Council's patent administration authority separately and in full.

Article 91 The State Council's patent administration authority shall provide the Patent Gazette, a separate edition of applications for invention patents and a separate edition of inventions, utility models and design patents free of charge for the review of the general public.

Article 92 The State Council's patent administration authority shall be responsible for the exchange of patent documents with the patent authorities of other countries or regions or regional exchange of the same based on the principle of mutual benefits.

Part 9 Fees

Article 93 When an application for a patent is made to, or other procedures are carried out with, the State Council's patent administration authority, the following fees shall be paid:
(1) application fee, application surcharge, publication printing fee and fee for right of priority claim;
(2) substantive examination fee and re-examination fee for invention patent applications;
(3) patent registration fee, Gazette printing fee and annual fee;
(4) rights restoration fee, time limit extension request fee;
(5) fee for alteration of bibliographic items, patent evaluation report request fee and invalidation request fee;
The payment rates for the fees set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be separately specified by the State Council's price administration authority together with the State Council's patent administration authority.

Article 94 The fees stipulated in the Patent Law and these Rules may be paid directly to the State Council's patent administration authority, remitted through a post office or a bank or otherwise paid as specified by the State Council's patent administration authority.
Where such payments are remitted through a post office or a bank, the correct application or patent number and the description of the fee being paid shall be written on the remittance form sent to the State Council's patent administration authority. If the provisions of this paragraph are not complied with, the payment procedures shall be deemed not to have been carried out.
Where such fee payments are made directly to the State Council's patent administration authority, the date on which payment is made shall be the date of payment. If such fee payments are made by postal remittance, the postal remittance postmark date shall be the date of payment. If such fee payments are made by bank remittance, the actual bank remittance date shall be the date of payment.
Where patent fees are overpaid, paid more than once or paid in error, parties may request a refund from the State Council's patent administration authority within three years from the fee payment date.

Article 95 Following receipt of a notice of acceptance, an applicant shall pay the application fee, publication printing fee and necessary surcharges within two months of the date of application or within 15 days after receiving the notice on acceptance. If payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Where an applicant claims right of priority, he shall pay the right of priority claim fee together with the application fee. If payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit, the applicant shall be deemed not to have claimed priority.

Article 96 Where a party requests a substantive examination, restoration of rights or re-examination, the fees shall be paid within the relevant time limits stipulated in the Patent Law and these Rules. If payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit, the party shall be deemed not to have made a request.

Article 97 When an applicant carries out registration procedures, he shall pay a patent registration fee, the Gazette announcement printing fee and an annual fee in the year in which the patent right is granted. If the fees are not paid within the time limit, the applicant shall be deemed not to have carried out the registration procedures.

Article 98 Subsequent payments of the annual fee shall be made in advance in the last month of the preceding year. Where an applicant fails to make timely payment of or to pay in full the annual fee, the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the patentee to make payment within six months of the date of expiration of the time limit for payment of the annual fee together with a late payment fine. The late payment fine shall be charged at a rate of 5% of the total amount of the annual fee for each month that payment of the annual fee exceeds the prescribed time of payment. If payment is not made within the time limit, the patent right shall terminate on the date of expiration of the time limit for payment of the annual fee.

Article 99 Fees for requesting restoration of a patent right shall be paid within the relevant time limits prescribed in the present Rules; if payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.
Time limit extension request fees shall be paid by the date on which the relevant time limit expires. If payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.
Fees for alteration of bibliographical items, patent evaluation report fees and invalidation request fees shall be paid within one month of the date of submission of the request; if payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.

Article 100 Where an applicant or patentee experiences difficulty in paying the fees stipulated in herein, he may submit a request to the State Council's patent administration authority for reduction or deferment of payment in accordance with regulations. The measures for reduction or deferment of payment shall be specified by the State Council's patent administration authority in consultation with the State Council's finance authority and the State Council's price administration department.

Part 10 Special Provisions for International Applications

Article 101 According to Article 20 of the Patent Law, the State Council's patent administration authority shall accept international patent applications submitted in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
The provisions of this Part shall apply to the conditions and procedures when an international patent application ("International Application") that is filed under, and that designates China in accordance with, the Patent Cooperation Treaty enters the national phase in China. If this Part is silent on any matter, the relevant regulations of the Patent Law and the other Parts hereof shall apply.

Article 102 International Applications for which the international application date has been determined and which designate China in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty shall be treated as patent applications filed with the State Council's patent administration authority and the said international application date shall be deemed to be the date of application.

Article 103 The applicant in an International Application shall carry out the procedures to enter the national phase in China with the State Council's patent administration authority within 30 months after the priority date (the "Priority Date") defined in Article 2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Where an applicant fails to carry out the procedures to enter the national phase in China within the said time limit, it or he may do so within 32 months from the Priority Date after payment of a grace period fee.

Article 104 Where an applicant carries out the procedures to enter the national phase in China according to Article 103 hereof, it or he shall conform to the following requirements:
(1) submitting a written statement that his International Application has entered the national phase in China in Chinese language; such statement shall specify the international application number, and the type of patent right sought;
(2) payment of the application fee and publication printing fee specified in the first paragraph of Article 93 hereof, and the extension fee specified in Article 103 hereof where necessary;
(3) if the International Application was filed in a language other than Chinese, the applicant shall submit the Chinese translations of the original International Application's description and claim(s);
(4) the written statement of entry into the national phase in China shall specify the title of the invention or creation, the name and address of the applicant and the name of the inventor; the aforementioned particulars shall be consistent with those recorded by the International Bureau under the World Intellectual Property Organization (“International Bureau”); where the international application does not specify the inventor, the name of the inventor shall be specified in said written statement;
(5) If an International Application was filed in a language other than Chinese, translation of the abstract shall be submitted; where the International Application or the abstract was accompanied by drawings , duplicates of such drawings and the drawings accompanying the abstract shall be submitted; where the drawings contain words in a foreign language, such words shall be replaced with corresponding Chinese words; if the International Application was filed in Chinese, a duplicate of the abstract and the drawings accompanying the abstract of the international published documents shall be submitted.
(6) If procedures for changing the applicant were carried out in the international phase, materials for certifying that the applicant after the change enjoys the right of application shall be submitted;
(7) payment of the application surcharge in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 93 hereof;
Where an application conforms to items (1), (2) and (3) of this Article 104, the State Council’s patent administration authority shall grant an application number, specify the date on which the International Application enters the national phase in China (the “Entry Date”) and notify the applicant that its or his International Application has entered the national phase in China.
Where an International Application has entered the national phase in China but does not conform to items (4), (5), (6) and (7) this Article 104, the State Council’s patent administration authority shall notify the applicant to make corrections accordingly within a designated period; where corrections are not made within the said period, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 105 The validity of an International Application in China shall terminate in any of the following circumstances:
(1) during the international phase, the International Application is withdrawn or is deemed to have been withdrawn; or designation of China on the International Application is withdrawn;
(2) the applicant fails to carry out the procedures to enter the national phase in China within the 32 months from the Priority Date in accordance with Article 103 hereof;
(3) the applicant has carried out the procedures to enter the national phase in China, but fails to conform to items (1), (2) and (3) of the first paragraph of Article 104 hereof within the 32 months from the Priority Date.
Where the validity in China of an International Application is terminated in accordance with the above item (1), Article 6 of the present Rules shall not apply; where the validity in China of an International Application is terminated in accordance with the above items (2) or (3), the second paragraph of Article 6 of the present Rules shall not apply.

Article 106 Where an International Application was amended at the international phase and the applicant requests that examination be conducted on the basis of the amended application documents, the applicant shall provide a Chinese translation of the amended part within two months from the Entry Date. If he fails to submit the Chinese translation within the said time limit, the State Council's patent administration authority shall not consider the amendments made by the applicant at the international phase.

Article 107 Where either of the circumstances prescribed in items (1) or (2) of Article 24 of the Patent Law occurs in the invention or creation involved in an International Application, and a statement was made when submitting the International Application, the applicant shall state such a circumstance in the written statement of entry into the national phase in China and shall provide the relevant certification documents within two months of the Entry Date in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 30 of the present Rules; where no statement is made or no certification document is submitted at the expiration of the time limit, Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to such an application.

Article 108 Where an applicant has provided a description concerning the deposit of samples of biological material in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty, he shall be deemed to have satisfied the requirements of Item (3) of Article 24 hereof. In his statement of entry into the national phase in China, the applicant shall indicate the documents in which matters concerning the deposit of samples of the biological material are recorded and the specific location(s) of such passage(s) in the said documents.
Where matters concerning the deposit of samples of biological material already recorded in the description accompanying the original International Application are not indicated in the statement of entry into the national phase in China, the applicant shall rectify such indication within four months from the Entry Date. If he fails to make rectification within the time limit, the said biological material shall be deemed not to have been deposited.
Where an applicant provides to the State Council's patent administration authority a certificate of deposit and a certificate of survival for the samples of the biological material within four months from the Entry Date, he shall be deemed to have submitted the same within the time limit prescribed in Item (1) of Article 24 hereof.

Article 109 Where an invention or creation involved in an International Application is completed depending on inheritance resources, the applicant shall indicate such circumstance in the written statement of entry into the national phase in China and fill in the relevant form formulated by the State Council’s patent administration authority.

Article 110 Where an applicant has claimed one or more rights of priority at the international phase and such claim continues in effect upon entry into the national phase in China, he shall be deemed to have submitted a written statement in accordance with Article 30 of the Patent Law.
The applicant shall pay the fees for requesting the right of priority within two months from the Entry Date; if payment is not made or is not made in full within the said time limit, no request for the right of priority shall be deemed to have been submitted.
Where an applicant has provided duplicates of prior application documents at the international phase in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty, he shall not be required to submit such duplicates to the State Council's patent administration authority when he carries out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China. If the applicant did not submit such duplicates at the international phase, the State Council's patent administration authority may, when it deems it necessary, notify the applicant to provide the same within a prescribed time limit. If the applicant fails to submit the same within the prescribed time limit, his claim for right of priority shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

Article 111 Where an applicant requests that the State Council's patent administration authority process and examine his International Application before the expiration of the 30-month period from the Priority Date, he shall not only carry out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China, but also submit a request pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 23 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. If the International Bureau has not yet forwarded the International Application to the State Council's patent administration authority, the applicant shall submit a certified duplicate of such application.

Article 112 The applicant in an International Application claiming a patent right for a utility model may submit a request to the State Council's patent administration authority to amend his application documents within two months from the Entry Date.
The first paragraph of Article 51 hereof shall apply to International Applications claiming a patent right for an invention.

Article 113 Where an applicant discovers that the Chinese translation of the description, claim(s) or the text of the drawing(s) that he submitted contains errors, he may submit corrections in conformity with the text of his original International Application within the following prescribed time limits:
(1) before the State Council's patent administration authority completes preparations for national publication; or
(2) within three months of the date of receipt of the notice issued by the State Council's patent administration authority stating that the invention patent application has entered the substantive examination stage.
Where an applicant wishes to correct errors in his translation, he shall submit a written request and pay the specified translation correction fee.
Where an applicant corrects a translation pursuant to the request of the State Council's patent administration authority contained in a notice, he shall carry out the procedures specified in the second paragraph of this Article within the prescribed time limit. If he fails to carry out the specified procedures within the prescribed time limit, his application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 114 After preliminary examination, if the State Council's patent administration authority is of the opinion that an International Application for an invention patent right claim conforms with the relevant regulations of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall publish such application in the Patent Gazette. If the International Application was filed in a language other than Chinese, the Chinese translations of the application documents shall be published.
Where international publication of an International Application for an invention patent right claim was effected in Chinese by the International Bureau, Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply thereto from the date of international publication. If international publication was effected by the International Bureau in a language other than Chinese, Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply thereto from the date of publication by the State Council's patent administration authority.
The term "publication" as used in Articles 21 and 22 of the Patent Law shall mean the term "publication" as used in the first paragraph of this Article.

Article 115 Where an International Application covers two or more inventions or utility models, the applicant may, pursuant to the first paragraph of Article 42 hereof, file a divisional application at any point from the Entry Date on.
If at the international phase the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority is of the opinion that an International Application does not conform with the requirement of unity of the Patent Cooperation Treaty and the applicant failed to pay the surcharge in accordance with regulations resulting in a certain part of the International Application not being subjected to preliminary examination by the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority, and the applicant then requests that the aforementioned part be made the basis for examination after the application enters the national phase in China and the State Council's patent administration authority is of the opinion that the judgment of the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority on the unity of the invention was correct, it shall notify the applicant to pay a unity restoration fee within a prescribed time limit. If the applicant fails to pay or pay in full such fee within the prescribed time limit, that part of the International Application that was not subjected to a search or a preliminary international examination shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

Article 116 If at the international phase the relevant international authority refuses to accord an international application date to an International Application or declares that such application has been deemed to be withdrawn, the applicant may, within two months of the date of receipt of the notice to such effect, request that the International Bureau forward a duplicate of any document in the file for the International Application to the State Council's patent administration authority and, within the said time limit, carry out the procedures specified in Article 103 hereof with the State Council's patent administration authority. The State Council's patent administration authority shall re-examine the decision rendered by the international authority to determine whether the same was correct after it has received the document(s) forwarded by the International Bureau.

Article 117 If due to a translation error the scope of protection for a patent right granted on the basis of an International Application as determined pursuant to Article 59 of the Patent Law is greater than the scope indicated in the original of the International Application, the scope of protection as limited by the original shall prevail. If the scope of protection is narrower than that indicated in the original of the International Application, the scope of protection at the time of the grant of the patent right shall prevail.

Part 11 Supplementary Provisions

Article 118 With the consent of the State Council's patent administration authority, any person may examine or copy the files or Patent Register of published or gazetted patent applications and may request the State Council's patent administration authority to issue duplicates of the Patent Register.
Files of patent applications that are deemed to have been withdrawn, that have been rejected or that have been withdrawn of the applicant's own accord shall be preserved until two years after the date on which the patent application ceases to be valid.
Files of patent rights that have been abandoned, invalidated in their entirety or terminated shall be preserved until three years after the date on which the patent right ceases to be valid.

Article 119 When submitting application documents to or carrying out procedures with the State Council's patent administration authority, the standard formats determined by the State Council's patent administration authority shall be used, and such documents shall be signed and sealed by the applicant, patentee and other materially interested persons or by their representatives. If a patent agency has been entrusted, such forms shall be signed and sealed by the agency.
Where a request is made to change the name of the inventor, the name, nationality or address of the patent applicant or patentee, or the name or address of the patent agency or agent, the procedures for changing bibliographic items shall be carried out with the State Council's patent administration authority and evidence of the reasons for the change shall be submitted.

Article 120 Documents concerning applications or patent rights that are mailed to the State Council's patent administration authority shall be sent as registered letters, not as parcels.
With the exception of the first time that application documents are filed, when documents are submitted to and procedures carried out with the State Council's patent administration authority, the application or patent number, the name of the invention or creation and the name of the applicant or patentee shall be specified.
A letter shall contain only documents relating to the same application.

Article 121 All types of application documents shall be typed or printed neatly and clearly in black ink, and may not contain alterations. Drawings shall be made with drafting instruments in black ink, with clear lines of uniform thickness, and shall not contain alterations.
Requests, descriptions, claims, drawings and abstracts, respectively, shall be numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals.
The textual portion of application documents shall be written horizontally. Entries shall be made on one side of the paper only.

Article 122 The State Council's patent administration authority shall formulate patent examination guidelines pursuant to the Patent Law and these Rules.

Article 123 These Rules shall be implemented as of 1 July 2001. The amended PRC, Patent Law Implementing Rules approved by the State Council on 12 December 1992 and issued by the China Patent Bureau on 21 December 1992 are simultaneously repealed.

Related Websit:
http://www.sipo.gov.cn/sipo2008/yw/2009/201001/t20100119_488002.html

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