What is the patent approval process
1. Publication of invention Patent application
The publication of an invention patent application means that the State Intellectual Property Office will record the description recorded in the request The matters and summary of the description are published in the Invention Patent Bulletin, and the full text of the description, drawings and claims of the invention patent application is published separately.
my country’s patent law regulates invention patent applications and utility model applications , Design patent applications stipulate different disclosure methods. Invention patent applications will be published 18 months after the filing date; utility model and design patent applications will be published when the authorization is announced. The reason is that invention patent applications must go through substantive examination and the examination period is relatively long. If the content of the application is not disclosed until the end of the substantive examination, the possibility of repeated research, investment and application on the same topic will be greatly increased, and the role of the patent system cannot be fully exerted.
2. Preliminary examination of invention patent application
span>The preliminary review is a review of the content of the application documents and is subject toA necessary procedure between the processing of the application and the publication of the application. The scope of the preliminary review mainly involves the following aspects:
(1) Review of obvious substantive defects.
Obvious substantive deficiencies that should be reviewed include: Application Whether the subject matter of the invention patent is obviously not an invention stipulated in the Patent Law and its implementing rules; whether the subject matter of the invention patent application is obviously in violation of national laws, social ethics or harmful to public interests; whether the content of the invention patent application is obviously not patentable; Scope, whether the application obviously does not comply with the requirement of unity of invention. During the preliminary examination, when the examiner requires the applicant to amend the application for the purpose of publishing the application, whether the amendment proposed by the applicant obviously exceeds the scope recorded in the original description and claims, Whether the drafting of the description and claims obviously does not comply with relevant regulations.
In principle, substantive issues will not be examined during the preliminary examination. The substantive defects described above should be limited to being "obvious" and affecting publication.
(2) Review of the applicant and agency matters.
(3) Review the application documents submitted by the applicant Whether and other documents related to the patent application comply with the formal requirements stipulated in the Patent Law and its implementing regulations.
(4) Examination of certain special patent applications. Special review of applications that are divisional applications or applications involving biological materials that need to be preserved, etc.
(5) Review of other issues. For example, invention patent applications accepted by the State Intellectual Property Office that involve national defense-related national secrets that need to be kept confidential should be handed over to the relevant competent authorities for review, etc.
3. Substantive examination of invention patent applications
my country implements a substantive examination system for invention patent applications. That is to say, not only the preliminary examination is conducted on the invention patent application, but also the substantive examination is conducted.
Substantive examination refers to the State Intellectual Property Office’s examination of inventions The application documents of the patent application are carefully studied, the claimed invention is searched to determine whether the application complies with the provisions of the Patent Law and its implementing regulations, especially the provisions on patentability, and a final decision is made on whether to grant the patent right. The substantive examination procedure begins when the substantive examination department of the State Intellectual Property Office receives the application dossier sent by the preliminary examination department and ends with the issuance of a notice of granting the invention patent right or a decision to reject the application or withdraw the application. The content of substantive examination mainly includes:
(1) Whether the subject matter of the patent application is an invention within the meaning of the Patent Law and its implementing regulations, and whether it falls within the scope where patent rights cannot be granted.
(2) Whether the subject matter of the patent application violates national laws, social ethics or harms public interests.
(3) Whether the patent application meets the requirements for unity of invention.
(4) If the applicant files an amendment or divisional application to the application, does it exceed what is recorded in the original description (including drawings) and claims? scope.
(5) Priority in application requirements If it is found that another person has filed another patent application on the same subject between the priority date and the filing date, or a search finds that there are relevant comparative documents published during this period, it should be examined whether the priority claim is established.
(6) Judgment based on the retrieved comparison documents Whether the technical solution claimed in the invention patent application is novel and inventive is judged as to whether the claimed invention is practical.
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