Chinese Invention Patent Application--Patent Filing with the SIPO--Jiaquan IP & Law

Chinese Invention Patent Application

An invention patent is the grant of a property right to the applicant, issued by the State Intellectual Property of P. R. China (SIPO) (For other types of patent, please refer to Chinese Patent FAQ here). The term of an invention patent is 20 years from the date on which the application for the patent was filed in China subject to the payment of annuity fees. Chinese granted patents are effective only within mainland China (NOT effective in Hong Kong, Macau or Taiwan). Patent term extensions are NOT available in China under any circumstances.

Features
● Granted in 2-4 years (Subject to how early substantive examination request is filed as shown in the filing timeline below)
● Substantive Examination Required
● Term of Protection: 20 years (No extension available)

Patent Law
Patent Law of P. R. China can be referred from here

Patent Examination Authority
State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO)
For the function of the SIPO, please refer to Chinese Patent FAQ

Definition of Invention Patent
According to Patent Law of P.R. China, inventions mean new technical solutions proposed for a product, a process or the improvement thereof.

Patentable Subject Matter of Invention Patent
Technical solution of product and process For the list of non-patentable subject matters, please refer to Chinese Patent FAQ here

Term of Protection
20 years from filing date

Prosecution Duration
2-4 years

Conditions of Granting an invention patent
a. Novelty
b. Inventiveness
c. Usefulness (For detailed definition of novelty, inventiveness and usefulness, please refer to Chinese Patent FAQ here)

Priority
1 year from the first filing date

Power of Attorney
Required
Blank POA can be downloaded here

Filing Requirement
● Description, abstract, claims and drawings (if necessary) in Chinese (No late filing is permitted; Application must be filed in Chinese)
You may provide us English version of the specification and our translation may take 2-4 weeks to finish
● Power of Attorney (Scanned copy of executed POA is sufficient; Can be filed later within three months after filing date)
Blank POA can be downloaded here
● Certified copy of Priority Document (Can be filed later within three months after filing)
Currently, applicant claiming benefit of first filing in Korean Patent Office, European Patent Office and US Patent and Trademark Office (if the applicant previously file such petition of exchange of e-document before USPTO) is not required to provide certified copy of priority document.

Examination Procedure

Fee
Applicant is not required to pay the maintenance fee before grant of the patent. More information of the official fee, please refer to the SIPO's link here(Chinese only)

Stages	Fee Due
Filing Stage	Filing Fee, Publication Printing Fee
Examination Stage (Petition of substantive examination together with the substantive fee may be filed at the time of filing or within 3 years from the first filing date)	Substantive Examination Fee
Granting Stage	Granting Fee & Annuity of the Year of Grant

For further information, please refer to the content below:
● Overview
● Chinese Invention Patent Application
● Chinese Utility Model Patent Application
● PCT Chinese National Stage Application
● Parallel Filing of Invention Patent Application & Utility Model Application
● Chinese Design Patent Application
● FAQ of Chinese Patent Application
● Patent Law of P. R. China
● Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of P. R. China

Our Practice Groups
●	Electrical / Telecommunications / Computer Science
●	Chemical / Pharmaceutical / Biotechnology
●	Mechanical Engineering
●	Physics
●	Litigation
●	International