1. How many people can apply for a patent at the same time
According to Article 1 of the Patent Law Article 8, “For inventions and creations completed by cooperation between two or more units or individuals, or for inventions and creations completed by one unit or individual under the entrustment of other units or individuals, unless otherwise agreed, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the unit that completed or jointly completed the invention. or an individual; after the application is approved, the applicant's unit or individual shall be the patentee." According to the regulations, there is no limit on the number of patent applicants, so no matter how many people can apply for a patent, the same applies to the signature of the patent.
2. Patent application process
1. Patent application documents There are specific requirements for filling in and writing patent application documents. Applicants can fill in or write them by themselves, or they can entrust a patent agency to do it for them. Although it is not compulsory to appoint a patent agent, considering the importance of carefully drafting patent application documents and the legal rigor of the approval process, it is worth promoting for inexperienced applicants.
2. Acceptance of patent applications
Received by the Patent Office Acceptance Office or various Patent Office agencies After a patent application is filed, for applications that meet the acceptance conditions, the application date will be determined, an application number will be given, and an acceptance notice will be issued.
3. Pay the application fee
If you submit the patent application documents in person, you can obtain the acceptance notice Pay the application fee after receiving the application fee notice. If the application is submitted by mail, the application fee should be paid after receiving the acceptance notice and the application fee payment notice, because the corresponding application number needs to be stated when paying the application fee, but the date for payment of the application fee must not be later than the date of application. Two months from date.
4. Patent approval process
According to the Patent Law, the approval process for invention patent applications includes five stages: acceptance, preliminary examination, publication, substantive examination and authorization. Utility model or design patent applications are not subject to publication and substantive examination during approval, but only three stages: acceptance, preliminary examination and authorization.
5. Active modification and correction of patent application documents
Active modification of patent application documents It is also a procedure that applicants can choose according to their needs. Applications for utility model and design patents are only allowed to submit active amendments within two months from the filing date; applications for invention patents are only allowed when a request for substantive examination is made and after receiving a notice from the Patent Office that the invention patent application has entered the substantive examination stage. Actively modify the patent application documents within three months from the date of application.
6. Application rejection
The patent applicant is dissatisfied with the decision of the patent administration department of the State Council to reject the application , may request reexamination to the Patent Reexamination Board within three months from the date of receipt of the notice. The reexamination procedure is an error-correction procedure that prevents patent applications that should be approved from not being approved due to the examiner's level, experience, misunderstanding of the law, etc., and provides a legal remedy to patent applicants. After review, the Patent Reexamination Board will make a decision and notify the patent applicant. If a patent applicant is dissatisfied with the reexamination decision of the Patent Reexamination Board, he may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within three months from the date of receipt of the notice.
7. Patent review process
(1) The State Intellectual Property Office rejects the patent application The decision includes two situations: one is when the State Intellectual Property Office, after preliminary examination, considers that the invention, utility model or design patent application does not comply with the provisions of the patent law and rejects it; the other is when the State Intellectual Property Office conducts a substantive examination. , believing that the invention patent application does not comply with the provisions of the Patent Law and shall be rejected.
(2) When requesting a reexamination to the Patent Reexamination Board, a reexamination request should be submitted, explaining the reasons, and attaching relevant evidence if necessary. If the reexamination request does not comply with the prescribed format, the reexamination requester shall make corrections within the time limit designated by the Patent Reexamination Board; if no corrections are made within the time limit, the reexamination request shall be deemed not to have been made. The requester may modify the patent application documents when submitting a request for reexamination or responding to the reexamination notice issued by the Patent Reexamination Board
(3) The Patent Reexamination Board shall accept the application Request for reexaminationSubmit it to the original examination department of the Patent Administration Department of the State Council for examination. If the original examination department agrees to revoke the original decision based on the request of the reexamination requester, the Patent Reexamination Board shall make a reexamination decision accordingly and notify the reexamination requester.
(4) After the Patent Reexamination Board conducts a reexamination, if it considers that the reexamination request does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and its implementing rules, it shall notify the reexamination requester and require him to State your opinion within the specified time limit. If there is no reply within the time limit, the reexamination request shall be deemed to have been withdrawn; after stating its opinions or making modifications, if the Patent Reexamination Board believes that it still does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and its Implementing Rules, it shall make a reexamination decision to maintain the original rejection decision; Patent Reexamination After the committee conducts a reexamination, if it believes that the original rejection decision does not comply with the relevant provisions of the Patent Law and its Implementing Rules, or if it believes that the revised patent application documents have eliminated the defects pointed out in the original rejection decision, it shall revoke the original rejection decision and let the original examination department continue. Conduct a review process.
8. The reexamination requester may withdraw his reexamination request before the Patent Reexamination Board makes a decision. If the reexamination requester withdraws his reexamination request before the Patent Reexamination Board makes a decision, the reexamination procedure will be terminated. If a patent applicant is dissatisfied with the reexamination decision of the Patent Reexamination Board, he may file a lawsuit with the People's Court within three months from the date of receipt of the notice.
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