– Patent Law of the People’s Republic of China, promulgated on March 12, 1984, in force since April 1, 1985 (published in Industrial Property No. 4, 1984).
– Decision regarding the Revision of the Patent Law of PRC of September 4, 1992, in force since January 1, 1993.
– Decision regarding the Revision of the Patent Law of PRC of August 25, 2000, in force since July 1, 2001.
– Decision regarding the Revision of the Patent Law of PRC of December 27, 2008, in force since October 1, 2009.
– Implementing Regulations of July 1, 2001; latest revision effective from January 20, 2024.
– Decision regarding the Revision of the Patent Law of PRC of October 17, 2020, in force since June 1, 2021.

– Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), since June 3, 1980.
– Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, Stockholm Act, since March 19, 1985.
– Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), since January 1, 1994.
– Budapest Treaty for the Deposit of Microorganisms, since July 1, 1995.
– Strasbourg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification, since June 19, 1997.
– WTO’s TRIPS Agreement, since December 11, 2001.
– The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille), since November 7, 2023.

Applicant: for a service invention, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the entity to which the inventor belongs. For a non-service invention, the right belongs to the inventor. For a service invention made by any staff member or worker of a foreign enterprise, or of a Chinese foreign joint venture enterprise, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the enterprise.

Foreign applicants: any foreign applicant having no permanent residence or business office in China shall be treated in accordance with bilateral or multilateral treaties to which China is a party, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, and he must appoint a Chinese patent agency.

Types of patents: Chinese patents are granted for inventions.

Definition of an invention: an invention means any new technical solution relating to a product, a process or improvement thereof.

Conditions for grant of patent right: any invention, or utility model for which patent right may be granted must possess novelty, inventiveness, and practical applicability.

Novelty: as of October 1, 2009, absolute novelty applies, meaning an invention is novel if before the date of filing it does not belong to the prior art (technology known to the public in China and abroad before the filing date) and no application is filed previously with the National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), which describes an identical invention and is published after the date of filing. A six-month novelty grace period can be obtained if the invention is disclosed by someone without permission of the applicant, or displayed for the first time in an international exhibition recognized/sponsored by the Chinese government, or disclosed for the first time in a government recognized academic conference, or disclosed for the first time for the sake of the public interest where a national emergency or any extraordinary state of affairs occurs.

Inventiveness: compared with the prior art (technology known to the public in China and abroad before the filing date), the invention must have prominent substantive features and represent a notable progress.

Practical applicability: an invention must be producible, usable and produce effective results.

Exceptions to protection for patents: (1) scientific discoveries; (2) rules and methods for mental activities; (3) methods for the diagnosis or for the treatment of diseases; (4) animal and plant varieties; (5) nuclear transformation methods or substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation; (6) two-dimensional designs made of patterns, colors or their combination, mainly for the purpose of indication; (7) inventions relying on genetic resources whose obtaining and utilization violate relevant laws and regulations. For item (4), patents for processes may be granted.

Process claims: the product obtained directly by a patented process is protected. In case of infringement, the manufacturer of the identical new product must furnish proof of the process used.

Microorganism: new microbiological processes or the product thereof are patentable. A microbiological process may be the selection and cultivation processes of new microorganisms, such as the processes of separation, screening, purification, and genetic engineering or an industrial process for the utilization of the special properties of microorganisms. New products are those obtained by the above-mentioned processes, such as: (1) new strains of microorganisms; (2) metabolic products of microorganisms such as fats, amino acids, etc.; (3) industrial products manufactured by utilizing the special properties of microorganisms, such as pharmaceutical products, animal feed, etc.

Foreign filing license: for an invention made in China, the applicant must request a secrecy check with CNIPA before filing the application abroad.

Claims: should normally contain a preamble portion indicating the technical field and the technical features of the prior art, and a characterizing portion stating the technical features of the invention.

Amendment of application: is allowed, but may not go beyond the scope of what was disclosed in the initial description and claims. The applicant may amend the application on its or his own initiative when a request for examination as to substance is made, or within three months after being notified by CNIPA that the application has entered into the substantive examination process.

Unity: an application for a patent for invention is limited to one invention; two or more inventions belonging to a single general inventive concept may be filed as one application.

Divisions: provided for. The applicant may, at any time before the expiration of the two months from the date of receipt of the notification to grant the patent, submit to CNIPA a divisional application, or at any time before the parent application is finally objected.

Territory covered: the People’s Republic of China.

Foreign priority: according to the Paris Convention, twelve months.

Domestic priority: provided for. Where, within twelve months from the date on which any applicant first filed in China an application for a patent for invention or utility model, the applicant files with CNIPA an application for a patent for the same subject matter, the applicant may enjoy a right of priority. When domestic priority is claimed, the first filed Chinese application will be deemed to be withdrawn.

Filing requirements for an application (to be sent to local agent):
1. Power of attorney, no legalization;
2. Specification with claims and abstract (in English, German, French or Japanese for translation into Chinese);
3. Drawings, if any (2 sets of the formal drawings without legend, and 1 set with illustration), size 185 x 260 mm;
4. Certified copy of the basic application, if priority is claimed; can be filed within sixteen months from the filing date. No translation (which is only to be filed on request of CNIPA). For an application claiming Convention priority of a U.S., EP or KR application, no certified copy of basic application is required based on the bilateral agreements between CNIPA and USPTO, CNIPA and EPO, and LIPO;
5. Assignment of priority rights (only if the applicant of the Chinese application differs from that of the first application), no legalization. It can be filed within three months from the filing date, but should be signed before the filing date of the Chinese patent application;
6. Where a patent application concerns a new microorganism which is not available to the public, the applicant shall deposit a sample of the microorganism with an international depositary authority (IDA) under the Budapest Treaty on or before the Chinese filing date (for a non-PCT application) or international filing date (for a PCT application), and provide with CNIPA a receipt of deposit and the viability report from the IDA within three months from the Chinese filing date (for a non-PCT application) or the date of entry into national phase in China (for a PCT application);
7. Where a patent application concerns an invention made relying on genetic resources, the applicant should indicate in the application documents the direct source or origin of the genetic resources, or state reasons if the origin cannot be indicated.

Electronic filing: available, but not compulsory. No fee reduction can be obtained.

Electronic signatures: are not accepted (only wet signatures).

PCT applications: time limit for entry into the national phase under PCT Art. 22 – Chapter I: 30 months; under Art. 39(l) – Chapter II: 30 months. Late entry into the national phase before the expiration of thirty-two months is possible provided a surcharge is paid.

Extent of examination: substantive examination of the invention is conducted after the preliminary examination for an application for a patent for invention.

First publication: an application for a patent for invention is published after expiration of eighteen months from the date of filing or priority after the preliminary examination. Any party may file observations regarding an application to CNIPA.

Request for substantive examination: may be made at any time within three years from the date of filing or, if a priority is claimed, from the date of priority. The applicant who first filed in a foreign country an application for a patent for the identical invention shall, if required by CNIPA, furnish documents concerning any search made for the purpose of examination of that application, or concerning the result of any examination made in that country.

Accelerated examination: not available. However, expedited examination under PPH procedures is possible. China is part of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program and has separate pilot programs with Offices including: IPO (Icelandic), PRV (Sweden), UKIPO (UK), EPO, JPO (JP), KIPO (KR), USPTO (US), Rospatent (RU), Austrian PTO, NIPO (Norway), EAPO (Eurasian Patent Organization), Czech Republic IPO, MyIPO (Malaysia), IPOS (Singapore), CIPO (Canada), Egyptian PTO, SAIP (Saudi Arabia), DKPTO (Denmark), INAPI (Chile), INPI (France), DPMA (Germany).

Responses to official letters must include all points raised by the Examiner. The term may be extended once or twice, for up to two months each time, upon payment of fees.

Rejection: if, after the applicant has made the observations or amendments, CNIPA finds that the application is still not in conformity with the provisions of the Patent Law, the application is rejected.

Granting the patent right: CNIPA shall take a decision for granting of the patent right, registering and announcing it, if it is found after substantive examination that there is no cause for rejection.

Reexamination: where an applicant is not satisfied with the decision of CNIPA rejecting the application, the applicant may request CNIPA to make a reexamination within three months from the receipt of the notification.

Appeal: if the applicant is not satisfied with CNIPA’s decision, he may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, institute legal proceedings in the People’s Court.

Transformation of a patent into a utility model: mutual transformation of the application is possible only within the domestic priority period.

Extent of protection: the extent of protection of the patent right for invention is determined by the terms of the claims. The description and the appended drawings may be used to interpret the claims.

Delivery of document: from March 1, 2022, paper patent registration certificates will no longer be issued. The registration certificate can be viewed and downloaded from CNIPA's online service system.

Duration: twenty years from date of filing in China.

Patent term extension (PTE): provided for from June 1, 2021. In order to compensate for the time taken for the review and approval of a new drug, CNIPA may, at the request of the patentee, grant compensation for a period of time for new drug invention patents that have been authorized for marketing in China. The compensation period shall not exceed five years, and the total effective patent term after market approval shall not exceed fourteen years. The PTE application must be filed within three months from the date the new drug receives regulatory approval in China.

Maintenance fees: are no longer due for applications. After granting, the first annuity for the current year in which the patent was granted must be paid. Grace period: six months with surcharge. The late payment surcharge begins from the second month.

Assignment: any assignment of a patent to a foreigner by a Chinese entity or individual, must be approved by the competent department of the State Council. An assignment comes into force after it is registered with CNIPA.

License: shall be submitted to CNIPA within three months from the conclusion of the contract.

Marking: not compulsory, but recommended in order to receive compensation when infringed. Number of patent application or patent should be indicated.

Working: not compulsory, however if a patent is not worked (manufacture, importation and sale) by the end of three years after the date of grant, or four years after the filing date, or if monopoly is established according to the law, due to the patentee’s enforcement of the patent, a compulsory license may be granted to a third party to exploit the patent in accordance with the provisions of Chinese Patent Law. The publication of an advertisement or the offer to license as working means are not provided by the Law.

Infringement: in addition to making, using, selling and importing, offering for sale is an infringement of the patent for invention or utility model.

Remedies: the patentee or any interested party may request the administrative authority for patent affairs to handle the matter of infringement (quicker proceedings) or may directly institute legal proceedings in the People’s Court. This can be done within two years from the date on which the patentee obtains or should have obtained knowledge of the infringing act. For continuous infringement, legal proceedings can be instituted after the two-year time limit. For damages, the patentee must institute legal proceedings in Court.

Preliminary injunction: available.

Damages: may be assessed by reference to the profit of the infringer, the loss of the patentee and multiples of the amount of the royalty. A statutory damage of RMB 30,000 to 5,000,000 can be granted if damages cannot be determined.

Surveillance by Customs: may be obtained, based on the recordal of patent right before the Customs General Office.

Penalty: if the case of passing-off of the patent of another person is serious, any person directly responsible shall be prosecuted for his criminal liability, by applying mutatis mutandis Article 216 of the Criminal Law. If any person passes off any unpatented product as patented product or any unpatented process as patented process, such person shall be ordered by the administrative authority for patent affairs to stop the passing-off, correct it publicly and pay a fine.

Infringement of process for the manufacture of a new product: the infringer has the obligation to furnish proof of the process used (reversal of the burden of the proof).

Right of prior user: it is not an infringement that before the date of filing of the application for patent, any person who has already made the identical product, used the identical process, or made necessary preparations for its making or using, continues to make or use it within the original scope only.

Cessation of patent right: the patent right shall cease before the expiration of its duration, if the patentee fails to pay an annual fee or abandons his patent right by a written declaration.

Invalidation of patent right: any entity or person considering that the grant of a patent right is not in conformity with the provision of the Law may request CNIPA to declare the patent right invalid after the date of announcement of the grant of the patent right. If any party is not satisfied with the decision of CNIPA declaring the patent right invalid or upholding the patent right, such party may, within three months from receipt of the notification of the decision, institute legal proceeding in the People's Court.

Compulsory license: CNIPA may grant a compulsory license to exploit a patent at the request of an entity qualified to exploit the invention if the patentee fails to exploit the patent, or exploits the patent insufficiently by the end of three years after grant or four years after the patent application was filed, or if monopoly is determined according to the law due to the patentee’s enforcement of the patent, and eliminating or reducing the negative effect to competition is necessary. For the purpose of public interest, for a patented medicine, CNIPA may grant a compulsory license to manufacture the patented medicine and export it to countries and regions of an international treaty to which China is a party. Such a compulsory license should be non-exclusive. If the patentee is not satisfied with CNIPA's decision to grant a compulsory license or with the adjudication regarding the exploitation fee, he may, within three months from the receipt of the notification of compulsory license, institute legal proceedings at the People’s Court.

Expropriation: not provided for.