国务院令第368号

（Promulgated¹ by the State Council on 15 June 2001， revised according to the > Decision> on 28 December 2002 and effective as of 1 February 2003.）

颁布日期：20021228 　实施日期：20030201 　颁布单位：国务院

　　PART ONE　GENERAL PROVISIONS

　　Article 1　These Rules are formulated³ in accordance with the PRC， Patent Law （the “Patent Law”）。

　　Article 2　For the purposes of the Patent Law， the term “invention” shall mean a new technical solution put forward for a product， process or the improvement thereof.

　　For the purposes of the Patent Law， the term “utility model” shall mean a new technical solution that is put forward for the form or structure， or the combination of the two， of a product and that has practical applicability.

　　For the purposes of the Patent Law， the term “design” shall mean a new design of a product's shape， pattern or the combination thereof， or the combination of its colour and its shape and/or pattern， that is aesthetically⁴ pleasing and suitable for industrial use.

　　Article 3　The various procedures provided for in the Patent Law and these Rules shall be carried out in writing or in another form prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority.

　　Article 4　All documents submitted in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules shall be in Chinese. Where the State has prescribed unified⁵ scientific and technical terminology⁶， 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 these 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 5　The postmark date of a document mailed to the State Council's patent administration authority shall be the date of submission⁷. 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 lapse⁸ 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 6　The first day of any time limit provided for in the Patent Law or these 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 expiration⁹. 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， the first working day following the holiday shall be the date of expiration.

　　Article 7　If， due to an event of force majeure， a party fails to observe a time limit provided for in the Patent Law or these Rules or a time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority， and consequently forfeits¹⁰ his rights， he may within two months from the date of elimination¹¹ 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. Such request shall contain an explanation of the reasons and be accompanied by relevant supporting documents.

　　If， for legitimate¹² reasons， a party fails to observe a time limit provided for in the Patent Law or these Rules or a time limit prescribed by the State Council's patent administration authority， 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. Such request shall contain an explanation of the reasons.

　　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 provided for in Articles 24， 29， 42 and 62 of the Patent Law.

　　Article 8　If an application for an invention patent involves State secrets in respect of national defence and needs to be kept confidential¹³， such patent application shall be accepted by the national defence patent organization. Invention patent applications accepted by the State Council's patent administration authority that involve State secrets in respect of national defence and need to be kept confidential shall be transferred to the national defence patent organization for examination.　The State Council's patent administration authority shall make a decision in accordance with the opinion reached by the national defence patent organization upon examination.

　　Except where otherwise provided in the preceding paragraph， those invention applications accepted by the State Council's patent administration authority that require confidential examination shall be transferred to the State Council's relevant department-in-charge for examination. The relevant department-in-charge shall notify the State Council's patent administration authority of the results of its examination within four months from the date on which it receives the application. If confidentiality¹⁴ is required for a patent application， the State Council's patent administration authority shall treat it as a confidential patent application and shall notify the applicant¹⁵.

　　Article 9　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 10　For the purposes of the Patent Law， except for the circumstances stipulated¹⁶ 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 these Rules， the term “date of application” shall mean the application date specified¹⁷ in Article 28 of the Patent Law， unless otherwise specified.

　　Article 11　For the purposes of Article 6 of the Patent Law， the phrase “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 resignation， dismissal， retirement¹⁸ or transfer， where the invention or creation is related to the job held or a task assigned by the original work unit.

　　For the purposes of Article 6 of the Patent Law， the term “one's work unit” shall include a work unit for which one works on a temporary basis. For the purposes of Article 6 of the Patent Law， the phrase “material and technical conditions of one's work unit” shall mean the work unit's funds， equipment， parts， components¹⁹， raw materials， or technical information not made public， etc.

　　Article 12　For the purposes of the Patent Law， 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 accomplishment²¹ of an invention or creation are not inventors or designers.

　　Article 13　Only one patent shall be granted for identical inventions or creations.

　　If， as provided for in Article 9 of the Patent Law， two or more applicants²² on the same day separately apply for a patent for identical inventions or creations， they shall consult among themselves to determine the applicant after being notified by the State Council's patent administration authority.

　　Article 14　The assignment of patent application rights or patent rights to a foreign national by a Chinese work unit or individual shall be subject to the approval of the State Council's authority in charge of foreign economic relations and trade and the State Council's authority for the administration of science and technology.

　　Article 15　If a patent right is transferred other than pursuant 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 licensing²³ contract concluded by the patentee with another party shall be submitted to the State Council's patent administration authority for the record within three months from the date on which the contract enters into effect.

　　PART TWO　APPLICATION FOR A PATENT

　　Article 16　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 specifying²⁵ the scope of the power entrusted²⁶ 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 17　For the purposes of the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Patent Law， the phrase “other matters covered in the request” shall mean：

　　1. the applicant's nationality；

　　2. if the applicant is an enterprise or other organization， the country in which its head office is located；

　　3. if the applicant has appointed a patent agency， the relevant particulars that are to be indicated； if the applicant has not appointed a patent agency， the name， address， postal²⁷ code and contact telephone number of his contact person；

　　4. if priority is claimed， the relevant particulars that are to be indicated；

　　5. the signature or seal of the applicant or patent agency；

　　6. the list of application documents；

　　7. the list of appended documents； and

　　8.　other relevant particulars that need to be indicated.

　　Article 18　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 pertains²⁸ 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 advantageous²⁹ 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 detailed³⁰ description of the best mode contemplated³¹ 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 accurately³² 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 advertising³³ 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.

　　Article 19　Several drawings of an invention or utility model may be drawn³⁴ on one sheet of paper and shall be arranged in numerical order as “Figure 1， Figure 2， ……”。

　　The size and clarity of drawings shall be such as to ensure that when such drawings are reduced in size by two-thirds， all the details are still clearly distinguishable.

　　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 constituent³⁵ parts shall be consistent.

　　Drawings shall not contain any explanatory notes other than words that are indispensable.

　　Article 20　Claims shall describe the technical characteristics of the invention or utility model， and clearly and concisely³⁶ define the scope of the request for protection.

　　If a letter of claim contains several claims， the claims shall be numbered consecutively³⁷ 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 illustrated³⁸ in Figure ……” may not be used.

　　In setting forth³⁹ 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 restrictions⁴⁰ of the claim.

　　Article 21　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 22　The independent claim for an invention or utility model shall include a preamble⁴¹ 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 23　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 serial⁴² 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 24　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 specify²⁴ 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 gist⁴³ 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 25　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 these 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 26　If an invention patent applicant deposits a sample of a biological material pursuant to Article 25 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 undertaking⁴⁴ 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 27　Drawings or photographs of designs submitted in accordance with Article 27 of the Patent Law may not be smaller than 3 cm x 8 cm or larger than 15 cm x 22 cm.

　　When patent applications for designs also request protection of colour， colour drawings or photographs shall be submitted in duplicate.

　　Applicants shall submit relevant views or photographs concerning those contents of each design product that require protection. Such views or photographs shall clearly show the subject matter for which protection is requested.

　　Article 28　If necessary， an application for a design patent shall contain a brief description of the design.

　　A brief description of a design shall specify such particulars as the key design elements of， the request for protection of colour for， and the omission⁴⁵ of views of， the product incorporating such 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 perishable⁴⁶， easily damaged or dangerous may not be submitted as samples or models.

　　Article 30　For the purposes of the third paragraph of Article 22 of the Patent Law， the term “existing technology” shall mean technology publicly disclosed in publications in China or abroad， publicly used in China or otherwise learned of by the public in China before the date of application （if there is priority， then before the date of priority）， i.e. prior art.

　　Article 31　For the purposes of Item （ii） of Article 24 of the Patent Law， the term “academic meetings” or “technological⁴⁷ meetings” shall mean academic or technological meetings convened⁴⁸ by relevant departments-in-charge of the State Council or by national academic organizations.

　　If an invention or creation for which a patent is applied⁴⁹ for comes under the provisions of Item （i） or Item （ii） 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 attesting⁵⁰ that the invention or creation has been exhibited or published， and attesting to the date of exhibition or publication.

　　If an invention or creation for which a patent is applied for comes under Item （iii） 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.

　　If an applicant fails to submit a declaration or supporting documents in accordance with the second paragraph hereof or fails to submit the supporting documents within the prescribed time limit in accordance with the third paragraph hereof， the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to his application.

　　Article 32　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 deemed to have been submitted.

　　If foreign priority is claimed， the copies of the Earlier Application documents filed by the applicant shall have been certified⁵¹ by the original accepting authority. If the name of the earlier applicant on the submitted supporting documents is different from the name of the later applicant， evidence of the assignment of priority shall be submitted. If domestic priority is claimed， the copies of the Earlier Application documents to be filed by the applicant shall be prepared by the State Council's patent administration authority.

　　Article 33　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 withdrawn⁵² from the date on which the later application is filed.

　　Article 34　If an applicant without a habitual⁵³ 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. proof of nationality；

　　2. if the applicant is an enterprise or another organization， a certificate concerning the location of its place of business or head office；

　　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 35　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 technically⁵⁴ 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 36　For the purposes of the second paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law， the term “of the same class” shall mean that the products belong to the same subclass in the classification， and the term “to be sold or used in sets” shall mean that the products belong to the same design concept and are customarily sold or used at the same time.

　　If one application is filed for two or more designs in accordance with the second paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law， each design shall be numbered consecutively and the numbers shall be placed in front of the titles of the views of the products using the designs.

　　Article 37　If an applicant withdraws a patent application， he must declare such withdrawal⁵⁵ 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 THREE　EXAMINATION AND APPROVAL OF PATENT APPLICATIONS

　　Article 38　Any person conducting an examination or hearing during the procedure for preliminary examination， substantive⁵⁶ 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 impartiality⁵⁸ 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 39　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 40　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 120 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 41　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 cancellation⁵⁹ 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 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 Article 35 or 36 hereof， it shall notify the applicant to amend⁶⁰ 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 these 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　For the purposes of 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 format²⁰， 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 or the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Patent Law， or clearly does not conform to the first paragraph of Article 31 or Article 33 of the Patent Law or the first paragraph of Article 2， or Article 18 or Article 20 of these 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 or the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Patent Law， or clearly does not conform to the third or fourth paragraphs of Article 26， the first paragraph of Article 31 or Article 33 of the Patent Law or the second paragraph of Article 2， the first paragraph of Article 13， Articles 18 to 23 or the first paragraph of Article 43 of these Rules， or is not patentable pursuant to Article 9 of the Patent Law； and

　　3. whether or not an application for a design patent clearly comes under Article 5 of the Patent Law， or does not conform to Article 18 or the first paragraph of Article 19 of the Patent Law， or clearly does not conform to the second paragraph of Article 31 or Article 33 of the Patent Law or the third paragraph of Article 2， the first paragraph of Article 13 or the first paragraph of Article 43 of these Rules， or is not patentable pursuant to Article 9 of the Patent Law.

　　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 specifies⁶² 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 inaccurate⁶³， 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 therefor， 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 pursuant 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 amends⁶⁴ 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　Replacement⁶⁵ pages shall be submitted， in the prescribed format， for the amended⁶⁶ portions of the descriptions or claims in applications for invention or utility model patents， except in the case of amendments⁶⁸， 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 does not conform to the first paragraph of Article 2 hereof；

　　2. the application comes under Article 5 or 25 of the Patent Law， or does not conform to Article 22 of the Patent Law or the first paragraph of Article 13， the first paragraph of Article 20 or the second paragraph of Article 21 of these Rules， or is not patentable pursuant to Article 9 of the Patent Law；

　　3. the application does not conform to the third or fourth paragraph of Article 26 or the first paragraph of Article 31 of the Patent Law；

　　4. an amendment⁶⁷ 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 registration⁶⁹ 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 renounced⁷⁰ the right to obtain the patent right.

　　Article 55　After a decision to grant a patent right for a utility model has been gazetted， the patentee of a utility model may make a request to the State Council's patent administration authority to issue a utility model patent search report.

　　Anyone who makes a request for a utility model patent search report shall submit a written request and indicate the patent number of the utility model patent. Each request shall be limited to one utility model patent.

　　After the State Council's patent administration authority receives a request to issue a utility model patent search report， it shall examine the same. If the request is found not to conform to the specified requirements， it shall notify the party making the request to correct the same within a prescribed time limit.

　　Article 56　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 promptly⁷¹ issue a utility model patent search report.

　　If， after searching， the State Council's patent administration authority is of the opinion that the relevant utility model patent does not comply with the provision on novelty or creativeness of Article 22 of the Patent Law， it shall cite the relevant documents， explain its reasons and attach photocopies⁷² of the documents cited by it.

　　Article 57　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 FOUR　RE-EXAMINATION OF PATENT APPLICATIONS AND INVALIDATION OF PATENT RIGHTS

　　Article 58　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 concurrently⁷³ serve as the chairman of the Patent Re-examination Board.

　　Article 59　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 therefor shall be submitted accompanied， if necessary， by the relevant evidence.

　　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 60　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 rejection⁷⁴ decision or the re-examination notice.

　　The amended patent application documents shall be submitted in duplicate.

　　Article 61　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 62　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 these 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 these 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 these Rules or that the amendments made to the patent application documents have eliminated the defects indicated in the original rejection decision， it shall revoke⁷⁵ the original rejection decision and the original examination authority shall continue the examination procedure.

　　Article 63　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 64　To request that a patent right be invalidated or partially⁷⁶ invalidated pursuant 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.

　　For the purposes of the preceding paragraph， the term “reason for an invalidation request” shall mean that the patented invention or creation does not conform to Article 22， 23， the third or fourth paragraph of Article 26 or Article 33 of the Patent Law or Article 2， the first paragraph of Article 13， the first paragraph of Article 20 or the second paragraph of Article 21 hereof， or falls under Article 5 or Article 25 of the Patent Law or is not patentable pursuant to Article 9 of the Patent Law.

　　Article 65　If a request for the invalidation of a patent right does not conform to Article 64 hereof， the Patent Re-examination Board shall not accept it.

　　If 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.

　　If a request for invalidation of a design patent right is made on the grounds that the patented design conflicts with the legally obtained prior right of a third party and the party making the request fails to submit a valid⁵⁷ handling decision or judgment⁷⁷ evidencing the conflict of rights， the Patent Re-examination Board shall not accept the request.

　　If 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 66　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 supplementary⁷⁸ evidence submitted after this time limit.

　　Article 67　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 68　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 69　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.

　　If 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.

　　If 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 70　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 71　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.

　　PART FIVE　COMPULSORY⁷⁹ LICENCE FOR THE WORKING OF A PATENT

　　Article 72　Three years after the date of grant of a patent right， any work unit may request the State Council's patent administration authority to grant a compulsory licence under Article 48 of the Patent Law.

　　To request a compulsory licence， a written request for a compulsory licence 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 licence 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 rendering⁸⁰ of a decision by the State Council's patent administration authority regarding the compulsory licence.

　　Decisions by the State Council's patent administration authority to grant compulsory licences shall restrict the working of the patent under the compulsory licence chiefly to meeting domestic market demand. If the invention or creation covered by the compulsory licence is semiconductor⁸¹ technology， the working of the patent under the compulsory licence shall be restricted to non-commercial use in the public interest or be granted as a remedy against anti-competitive behavior as determined⁸² in legal or administrative⁸³ procedures.

　　Article 73　If the State Council's patent administration authority is requested to rule on the amount of the royalty⁸⁴ in accordance with Article 54 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 SIX　REWARD AND REMUNERATION OF INVENTORS OR DESIGNERS OF SERVICE INVENTIONS AND CREATIONS

　　Article 74　A State-owned enterprise or institution granted a patent right shall give the inventor or designer a money award within three months from the date on which the patent right is gazetted. The money award for an invention patent shall not be less than Rmb 2000. The money award for a utility model or design patent shall not be less than Rmb 500.

　　After the granting of a patent right for an invention or creation that was completed because the work unit to which the inventor or creator belongs accepted his proposal， the State-owned enterprise or institution granted the patent right shall give a generous money award.

　　Enterprises may enter money awards paid to inventors or designers under costs. Institutions may enter such money awards under operating expenses.

　　Article 75　After working a patent for an invention or creation within the term of the validity of the patent right， the State-owned enterprise or institution 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.

　　Article 76　If the State-owned enterprise or institution granted the patent right for an invention or creation licenses⁸⁵ another work unit or an individual to work its patent， it shall pay the inventor or designer remuneration at the rate of not less than 10% of the after-tax royalty received by it from such licence.

　　Article 77　Other work units in China may refer to the provisions of this Part regarding money awards and remuneration.

　　PART SEVEN　PATENT PROTECTION

　　Article 78　For the purposes of the Patent Law and these Rules， the term “Patent Administration Authorities” shall mean the patent administration authorities established by the people's governments of the provinces， autonomous⁸⁶ 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 capability⁸⁷ to handle patent administration work.

　　Article 79　In addition to that provided for in Article 57 of the Patent Law， Patent Administration Authorities may mediate⁶¹ 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； and

　　4. disputes concerning the inadequacy⁸⁸ of royalties⁸⁹ for the use of an invention after the invention patent application has been published and before the patent has been granted.

　　Requests to the Patent Administration Authorities by patentees for mediation⁹⁰ in the disputes specified in Item （4） of the preceding paragraph shall be submitted after the patent right has been granted.

　　Article 80　The State Council's patent administration authority shall provide professional guidance to the Patent Administration Authorities in the handling 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 infringement⁹¹ occurred shall have jurisdiction⁹².

　　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　If， during the handling of a patent infringement dispute， 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.

　　If 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　If a patentee affixes⁹⁴ its patent marking on its patented product or on the packaging of such product pursuant to Article 15 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：

　　1. affixing⁹⁵， without a licence， a third party's patent number on products or the packaging of products one manufactures or sells；

　　2. using， without a licence， a third party's patent number in advertising or other publicity⁹⁶ materials， thereby⁹⁷ causing people to confuse the technology involved with the patented technology of such third party；

　　3. using， without a licence， a third party's patent number in a contract， thereby causing people to confuse the technology under the contract with the patented technology of such third party；

　　4. forging or altering a third party's patent certificate， patent documents or patent application documents.

　　Article 85　The following acts constitute the passing off of non-patented products as patented products or the passing off of a non-patented process as a patented process：

　　1. the manufacture or sale of non-patented products bearing a patent marking；

　　2. continuing to affix⁹³ a patent marking on products that one manufactures or sells after a patent right has been invalidated；

　　3. referring to non-patented technology as patented technology in advertisements or other publicity materials；

　　4. referring to non-patented technology as patented technology in a contract；

　　5. forging or altering patent certificates， patent documents or patent application documents.

　　Article 86： If 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.

　　If 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： If， during the hearing of a civil case， the people's court rules that preservation⁹⁸ 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.

　　PART EIGHT　PATENT REGISTRATION AND PATENT GAZETTE

　　Article 88： 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. recordal 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 licences for the working of patents；

　　9. changes in the names， nationalities or addresses of patentees.

　　Article 89： The State Council's patent administration authority shall periodically publish a Patent Gazette， in which the following shall be published or announced：

　　1. bibliographic⁹⁹ items contained in patent applications；

　　2. abstracts of the descriptions of inventions or utility models， and drawings or photographs as well as brief descriptions of designs；

　　3. 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；

　　4. rescission of the secrecy¹⁰⁰ of patents；

　　5. rejection， withdrawal or deemed withdrawal of an application for an invention patent after its publication；

　　6. grant of patent rights；

　　7. invalidation of patent rights；

　　8. termination of patent rights；

　　9. transfer of patent application rights and patent rights；

　　10. recordal 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 licences to work patents；

　　13. restoration of patent applications or patent rights；

　　14. changes in the names or addresses of patentees；

　　15. notifications to parties whose addresses are unknown；

　　16. corrections made by the State Council's patent administration authority； and

　　17. 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.

　　PART NINE　FEES

　　Article 90： When 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 and publication printing fee；

　　2. substantive examination fee and re-examination fee for invention patent applications；

　　3. patent registration fee， Gazette printing fee， application maintenance fee， annual fee；

　　4. fee for alteration¹⁰¹ of bibliographic items， right of priority claim fee， rights restoration fee， time limit extension request fee， utility model patent search report fee；

　　5. invalidation request fee， procedure suspension request fee， compulsory licence request fee， fee for requesting a ruling on compulsory licence royalties.

　　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 91： The fees provided for in the Patent Law and these Rules may be paid directly to the State Council's patent administration authority， remitted¹⁰² through a post office or a bank or otherwise paid as specified by the State Council's patent administration authority.

　　If 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 remittance¹⁰³ 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.

　　If 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. However， if the State Council's patent administration authority receives such payment more than 15 days after the date of remittance， the date of receipt shall be the date of payment， unless the post office or bank issues a certificate.

　　If patent fees are overpaid， paid more than once or paid in error， parties may request a refund¹⁰⁴ from the State Council's patent administration authority within one year from the fee payment date.

　　Article 92： 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， at the latest. If payment is not made or not made in full within the time limit， the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

　　If 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 93： If a party requests a substantive examination， restoration of rights or re-examination， the fees shall be paid within the relevant time limits provided for 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 94： If an applicant for an invention patent is not granted a patent right within two years of the date of application， he shall pay an application maintenance fee from the third year.

　　Article 95： 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. An invention patent applicant shall pay， in a lump sum， the application maintenance fee for each year， excluding the year in which the patent 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. Subsequent payments of the annual fee shall be made in advance in the last month of the preceding year.

　　Article 96： If an applicant fails to make timely payment of， or to pay in full， the annual fee for any year following that in which a patent right is granted， 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 97： Fees for alteration of bibliographical¹⁰⁵ items， utility model patent search report fees， fees for requesting procedure suspension， compulsory licence request fees， fees for requesting a ruling on the fee for using a compulsory licence and invalidation request fees shall be paid in accordance with regulations within one month of the date of submission of the request. 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.

　　Article 98： If an applicant or patentee experiences difficulty in paying the fees provided for herein， he may submit a request to the State Council's patent administration authority for reduction or deferment¹⁰⁶ 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 consultation¹⁰⁷ with the State Council's finance authority and the State Council's price administration department.

　　PART TEN　SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR INTERNATIONAL APPLICATIONS

　　Article 99： Pursuant 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 100： 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 deemed to be the date of application specified in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

　　If， during the international phase， the International Application or the designation of China in the International Application is withdrawn or deemed to have been withdrawn， the validity of such International Application in China shall terminate.

　　Article 101： The applicant in an International Application shall carry out the following procedures associated with the International Application entering 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：

　　1. submitting a written statement that his International Application has entered the national phase in China； such statement shall specify the international application number， and specify in Chinese the type of patent right sought， the title of the invention or creation， the name and address of the applicant and the name of the inventor； the afore-mentioned particulars shall be consistent with those recorded by the International Bureau；

　　2. payment of the application fee， application surcharges and publication printing fee specified in first paragraph of Article 90 hereof；

　　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， claim（s）， text of the drawing（s） and abstract； if the International Application was filed in Chinese， a duplicate of the abstract of the international published documents shall be submitted；

　　4. if the International Application was accompanied by drawings， duplicates of such drawings shall be submitted； if the International Application was filed in Chinese， a duplicate of the drawings accompanying the abstract of the international published documents shall be submitted.

　　If an applicant fails to carry out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China within the time limit prescribed in the preceding paragraph， he may do so prior to the expiration of a period of 32 months from the Priority Date after payment of a grace period fee.

　　Article 102： If an applicant fails to carry out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China within the time limit prescribed in the second paragraph of Article 101 hereof or if he is characterized by any of the circumstances set forth below， the validity of his International Application in China shall terminate：

　　1. his international application number was not indicated in the statement of entry into the national phase in China；

　　2. he has failed to pay the application fee and publication printing fee specified in the first paragraph of Article 90 hereof and the grace period fee specified in the second paragraph of Article 101 hereof； or

　　3. his International Application was filed in a language other than Chinese and he has failed to provide a Chinese translation of the description and claim（s） of the original International Application.

　　If the validity in China of an International Application has already terminated， the second paragraph of Article 7 hereof shall not apply.

　　Article 103： If， when carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China， an applicant is characterized by any of the circumstances set forth below， the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the applicant to correct the same within a prescribed time limit：

　　1. he has failed to provide a Chinese translation or duplicate of the abstract；

　　2. he has failed to provide a duplicate of the drawing（s） or the abstract drawing；

　　3. he has failed to indicate the title of the invention or creation， the applicant's name or address or the inventor's name in Chinese in the statement of entry into the national phase in China； or

　　4. the contents or format of the statement of entry into the national phase in China do not comply with regulations.

　　If the applicant fails to make the corrections within the time limit， his application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.

　　Article 104： If 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 the amended Chinese translation before the State Council's patent administration authority has completed the preparations for national publication. 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 105： When carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China， the applicant shall additionally satisfy the following requirements：

　　1. if the inventor was not indicated in the International Application， he shall indicate the name of the inventor in the statement of entry into the national phase in China；

　　2. if procedures for changing the applicant were carried out with the International Bureau at the international phase， evidence that the post-change applicant has the application right shall be submitted；

　　3. if the applicant is different from the person who made the prior application on which the right of priority is based or if such person changed his name after filing the prior application， when necessary， evidence that the applicant has right of priority shall be submitted；

　　4. if an invention or creation covered by an International Application is characterized by the circumstance specified in Item （i） or （ii） of Article 24 of the Patent Law and a declaration of the same was made when filing the International Application， a description of the same shall be included in the statement of entry into the national phase in China and within two months from the date of carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China the relevant certificate specified in the second paragraph of Article 31 hereof shall be submitted.

　　If an applicant fails to satisfy the requirements of Item （1）， （2） or （3） of the preceding paragraph， the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the applicant to correct the same within a prescribed time limit. If the missing information under Item （1） or the missing evidence under Item （2） is not provided within the prescribed time limit， the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn； if the missing evidence under Item （3） is not provided within the prescribed time limit， the request for right of priority shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

　　If an applicant fails to satisfy the requirements of Item （4） of the first paragraph of this Article， Article 24 of the Patent law shall not apply to his application.

　　Article 106： If 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 25 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.

　　If an applicant has recorded matters concerning the deposit of samples of biological material in the description accompanying the original International Application but has failed to do so in the statement of entry into the national phase in China， he shall provide the same within four months after the date on which he carried out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China. If he fails to provide the same within the time limit， the said biological material shall be deemed not to have been deposited.

　　If 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 after the date on which he carried out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China， he shall be deemed to have submitted the same within the time limit prescribed in Item （1） of Article 25 hereof.

　　Article 107： If 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 the Patent Law.

　　If his written statement of right of priority submitted at the international phase contains typographical errors or does not indicate the prior application number， an applicant may， when carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China， submit a request for correction or indicate the prior application number.　If an applicant submits a request for correction， he shall pay the fee for requesting the correction of a claim of right of priority.

　　If 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.

　　If a claim of right of priority is deemed to not have been submitted at the international phase and the International Bureau has published this information but the applicant has a legitimate reason， he may request that the State Council's patent administration authority restore his claim of right of priority when carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China.

　　Article 108： If 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 after 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 109： 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 description， drawing（s） and/or claim（s） within one month from the date on which he carried out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China.

　　The first paragraph of Article 51 hereof shall apply to International Applications claiming a patent right for an invention.

　　Article 110： If 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 conformity¹⁰⁸ 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.

　　If an applicant wishes to correct errors in his translation， he shall submit a written request， the corrected page（s） of his translation and pay the specified translation correction fee.

　　If 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 111： If， after preliminary examination， 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.

　　If 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.

　　For the purposes of International Applications， 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 112： If 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 after carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China.

　　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 unity¹⁰⁹ 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 afore-mentioned 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 113： If an applicant submits documents and pays fees pursuant to Article 101 hereof， the submission date shall be date on which the State Council's patent administration authority receives the documents and the payment date shall be date on which it receives payment.

　　If any submitted document is delayed in the mail and the applicant provides， within one month after the date of discovering the delay， evidence that such document was mailed five days before the expiration of the time limit prescribed in Article 101 hereof， such document shall be deemed to have been received on the date of expiration of the time limit. However， the time at which the applicant provides the evidence may not be later than six months after the expiration of the time limit prescribed in Article 101 hereof.

　　When submitting documents to the State Council's patent administration authority pursuant to Article 101 hereof， an applicant may do so by facsimile. If an applicant submits a document by facsimile， the date on which the State Council's patent administration authority receives the facsimile shall be the submission date. The applicant shall submit the original of the facsimile to the State Council's patent administration authority within 14 days after the facsimile transmission date. If the applicant fails to submit the original within the time limit， he shall be deemed not to have submitted the document.

　　Article 114： If an International Application contains a claim for a right of priority， the application shall pay a right of priority claim fee when carrying out the procedures associated with entry into the national phase in China. If the applicant fails to make payment or to make payment in full， the State Council's patent administration authority shall notify the applicant to make payment within a prescribed time limit. If the applicant fails to make payment or to make payment in full by the expiration of the prescribed time limit， he shall be deemed not to have made a claim for right of priority.

　　Article 115： 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 101 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 116： 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 56 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 ELEVEN　SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS

　　Article 117： 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 118： When submitting application documents to or carrying out procedures with the State Council's patent administration authority， the standard formats¹¹⁰ 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.

　　If 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 119： 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 120： All types of application documents shall be typed or printed neatly¹¹¹ and clearly in black ink， and may not contain alterations¹¹². 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 121： The State Council's patent administration authority shall formulate² patent examination guidelines pursuant to the Patent Law and these Rules.

　　Article 122： These Rules shall be implemented¹¹³ as of 1 July 2001. The amended PRC， Patent Law Implementing¹¹⁴ Rules approved by the State Council on 12 December 1992 and issued by the China Patent Bureau on 21 December 1992 are simultaneously¹¹⁵ repealed¹¹⁶.

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