What is an invention patent?

Invention is a technical solution to a specific problem by using natural laws. Its product or proposed production method is unprecedented, or it is an improvement on the original product and production method. Patent inventions can be divided into product inventions (such as machines, instruments, equipment and appliances) and method inventions (manufacturing methods).

What is a utility model patent?

Utility model refers to a new practical scheme for the shape, structure or combination of products. It only protects certain shapes of products. Method inventions and inventions of powders, liquids and materials without certain shapes can only apply for invention patents. The patent for utility model is granted without substantive examination, with simple procedures and low cost. Therefore, small inventions about tangible handicrafts such as daily necessities, machinery and electrical appliances are more suitable for applying for utility model patents.

What is a design patent?

Appearance design refers to a new design that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application for the shape, pattern, color or their combination of products. Therefore, the object of design patent protection is the decorative or artistic design of products. This design can be a plane pattern or a three-dimensional shape, and more commonly it is a combination of the two. The main condition for granting a patent is novelty, and its examination and approval procedures, patent period and utility model patent are the same.

It takes about 6-8 months for utility model and appearance patents to pass formal examination rather than substantive examination. After the actual examination is passed, the Patent Office will issue a letter of authorization, and the applicant will go through the licensing formalities after receiving the letter, and it will take about 2-3 months to get the patent certificate after paying the licensing fee. The specific time also depends on the speed of the examiner's examination, the informative degree of the applicant's public information and the provision of the attached drawings.

What are the conditions for granting a patent right?

The conditions for granting patent right include two aspects: formal conditions and substantive conditions.

The so-called formal conditions refer to the necessary document formats and procedures that the patent office should perform when conducting preliminary examination, substantive examination and granting patent rights. In other words, a patent application should be filed in written form, and the application documents with certain format and content requirements should be submitted.

Substantive conditions can determine whether an invention-creation applying for patent protection can be patented, which is the key to determine whether a patent application can be granted a patent right. An invention or utility model granted a patent right shall be novel, creative and practical. The necessary condition for granting a design is that the design is not the same as or similar to the design published in domestic and foreign publications or publicly used in China before the application date.

Novelty means that the invention or utility model for which a patent is applied does not belong to the existing technology, and the appearance design for which a patent is applied is not the same as or similar to the existing design.

Creativity means that the invention or utility model for which a patent is applied is progressive and advanced compared with the existing technology of the same type.

Practicality means that the invention or utility model must be practical and can produce positive effects.

What needs special explanation is:

China's patent examination system determines that inventions require formal examination and substantive examination, while utility models and designs only require formal examination and not substantive examination (so the authorization time is very fast), so many agencies claim 100% authorization. This is no problem. The key point is that it may mislead the applicant: the authorized patent is considered as a valid patent. In fact, utility model and design patents may be deemed invalid without substantive examination. This is a fact, determined by China's patent examination system, and also the patent reality in China.

It should be said that whether it is an invention patent or a utility model patent, as long as it is a patent, it must meet the requirements of the three characteristics of the patent, but not the requirements of the three characteristics of the patent. Even if the patent certificate is obtained through examination in the application process, it may be invalid, and it will also be invalid in subsequent infringement lawsuits.

The utility model patent system makes the quality of patents mixed, and a large number of "non-patents" are mixed in the ranks of "patents", which makes the public have some doubts about the patents themselves. It is foreseeable that after the number of patent applications reaches a certain number, there will definitely be reforms, and all of them will go through substantive examination, which is certain. From the patent applicant's point of view, sometimes it may be cost-effective to spend less money in exchange for a possibility in a short time. Nowadays, there are more enterprises applying for patents than individuals, and the public also agrees with patents. Therefore, instead of investing huge advertising fees, it is better to invest less money to apply for patents. At least it can play a considerable advertising effect.

2. There are two ways to apply for a patent: entrust a patent agency or write the application documents yourself.

It should be said that writing patent application documents is a highly technical job. Moreover, applying for a patent is not only as simple as writing patent application documents, but also involves searching for comparative documents in the fields involved in patents. If the comparison document discloses the invention content, the agent shall communicate with the inventor whether the technical problem can be transformed and the corresponding technical scheme. If the inventor cannot add new content in this case, the customer is advised to withdraw the case. When writing the application documents, the claims and instructions should take into account the problems that may arise when answering the examination opinions and how to remedy them. If it is invalid, only the claim can be modified, and the content cannot be deleted from the specification; Is the scope clearly defined in the case of infringement? Whether it is possible to be bypassed and so on. It can be said that before applying for a patent, a qualified agent should have a global grasp and understanding of the latest technical content in the field involved in the invention, and on the basis of considering the interests of the applicant, he can make an overall layout of whether to apply (which can be kept as a technical secret), how to apply (whether it is necessary to apply for an invention, utility model or appearance abroad) and possible existing technologies (how to avoid it). Being able to do the above is the basic requirement of a mature and experienced agent. It is the applicant's luck to find such an agent, and the scope of patent protection can get the strongest protection.

Unfortunately, in the current atmosphere of our country, the applicant is more concerned about the price, how to minimize the agency fee, and quality is second. Maybe they think that after the agent operates, the result is similar. Faced with this demand from customers, agents have to lower their service standards. Most agents only do file transfer and format conversion of technical disclosure content, which saves time and effort, and the quotation can be reduced all the way, and the applicant is also very happy. As for authorization, there is no problem with utility model and design. As long as the scope of protection is minimized, the examiner has no opinion and everyone is happy. When the patent really needs to play a role, the tiger comes out, and the applicant will find a sick cat in the cage, wasting the application fee, agency fee and annual fee in vain, and only getting a useless blank sheet of paper.

Fortunately, most patent applicants don't care about patent quality, but only about the number of applications. As long as they use the application number, they can meet the requirements of the government, declare high-tech enterprises, be tax-free, declare high-tech enterprises, advertise and deceive consumers. So this game has been going on.

In order to apply for a patent, many companies or individuals can learn the writing requirements by looking at the patent law temporarily and prepare an application document that meets the formal requirements (you can learn it on the website of China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office, China). The application process was also smooth, the authorization was smooth, and the certificate was obtained. The key point is that the "value" of this patent is gone, but it is just a paper tiger used to scare people.

Therefore, we suggest that if the applicant really wants to expand the scope of patent protection and really wants to play the role of "tiger" in the market, don't worry about money, or ask the best and most professional agent to help you plan.

Selection of agents and agents:

Personal views are for reference only. Patents belong to the technical field, so do agents. Because of the different technical background, the specialization field of each agent is different. Generally speaking, it is basically divided into mechanical, chemical, electrical and communication fields. How to judge the quality of agents? On the one hand, you can search for an agent in the patent search column of the website of China National Intellectual Property Administration Patent Office. We can find out all the published cases he has represented, and judge the field and level of the agent according to the field to which these cases belong. If an agent spans three categories (mechanical, chemical and electrical), we don't recommend choosing such a "generalist" agent, which is broad and will not be expert and refined. We also don't recommend agents who have worked for many years to follow blindly, because before the mid-1990s, agents didn't have to take exams, and they were basically prepared by public institutions, and the requirements for patent writing were very simple. This groping experience didn't make much sense. After 1999, the patent agency industry began to be standardized, and a large number of business establishment agencies began to set up corporate companies from affiliated units. In recent years, the agent examination has also begun to be standardized. The historical opportunity of China's entry into WTO has also attracted a large number of talents to flood into this industry. Therefore, we think that the agents who entered this industry in 000+0 and 02, after five years' training, are becoming the backbone of this industry with their broad international vision, and their agency skills can be said to be quite mature. However, the old agency before may not be able to do better because of the influence of the irregular agency format before. I have contacted such an agent. I'm almost 80 years old and I'm still dawdling on the agency case. I don't agree with the quality of agency. Those agents who use the signboard of which institute, university or patent office examiner or reexamination board are bored. This kind of experience is basically meaningless for institutional experience.

Agent: We tend to choose agents with complete industries and young and middle-aged agents, and the effect is better. Of course, there is also an element of luck. You just met an agent with mature experience, rich theory and practice, and serious and responsible. That's the best.

3, prepare the information needed to apply for a patent

If you intend to entrust a patent agency, please prepare the following application materials:

To apply for a patent for invention, you need to provide the following information:

1. Please provide 1, name, address and zip code of the applicant; 2. A copy of the applicant's business license, organization code certificate or personal identity card; 3. Name, address and postal code of the inventor (natural person); 4. The telephone number, fax number and contact address of the contact person who handles the invention patent application.

2. Go through the entrustment formalities (official seal of the unit or signature of natural person).

3. Submit technical disclosure. In order to facilitate you to write the disclosure, and for us to better understand your invention, please write the disclosure in the following format.

I. Name of the invention

(A product, device or method simply and clearly reflects the technical content of the invention (generally limited to 25 words))

Second, the technical field.

(Briefly describe the technical field, such as: the invention belongs to an automatic temperature control device, and the invention relates to a heat treatment method of XXX material, etc. )

Third, the existing technology (background technology)

(Analyze and explain the state of the similar prior art that is closest to the invention, and explain it with the help of the attached drawings when necessary, including the structure, the position and connection relationship or conditions between components, and the technological process, etc. Point out the existing problems in the existing technology realistically and analyze the existing reasons as far as possible).

Fourth, the content of the invention

1. Purpose of the invention (The technical problems to be solved by the present invention are pointed out in a practical way. )

2. The technical scheme (which should be described clearly, completely and accurately, especially the invention points different from the prior art) should be described as clearly as possible, which is not only the basic principle of the invention so that ordinary technicians in the field can implement it, but also the role it plays in the invention when describing various technical means of the technical scheme (including the position and connection relationship of each structure). If it is difficult to describe clearly in words, please use the attached drawings to explain. Alternative technical scheme or alternative technical elements, method steps, etc. The invention of. If so, it should be put forward as far as possible to form subordinate claims. )

Attachment: If there are English abbreviations or codes with special meanings, please indicate their meanings and Chinese names commonly used in the industry.

3. Technical effects (corresponding to the technical problems and technical solutions to be solved by the invention, the effects that can be achieved by the invention (including social, economic and technical effects, preferably with specific data) are described concretely and truly, and scientific analysis and test results are the most convincing evidence. )

V. Attached Drawings and Brief Description of Attached Drawings

(It is necessary to provide necessary drawings (i.e. structural schematic drawings, not engineering drawings) to describe the invention, which can clearly reflect the main points of the invention, so various drawing methods can be adopted. Numbering and naming components or structures in a unified way, and providing drawings related to existing technologies when necessary. )

Sixth, the specific implementation mode.

(enumerate the examples of realizing the invention (the concrete embodiment of the inventive idea), and give the concrete examples of realizing the invention to reflect the creative content of the invention, including the electrical components and their electrical connection relations. If it is a method, please explain the specific methods of each part, including static relationship, dynamic relationship and action effect. )

Attachment: If there are English abbreviations or codes with special meanings, please indicate their meanings and Chinese names commonly used in the industry.

Information provided when applying for a patent for utility model:

1. Please provide 1, name, address and zip code of the applicant; 2. A copy of the applicant's business license, organization code certificate or personal identity card; 3. Name, address and postal code of the inventor (natural person); 4. The telephone number, fax number and contact address of the contact person who handles the invention patent application.

Second, go through the entrustment procedures (the contract is provided by the agency)

Third, submit the technology to the public, and the agency will examine whether it can apply for a patent. If you can, the agency will send you an entrustment agreement and sign a contract.

Technical disclosure can be divided into the following eight parts:

The name of the utility model (product)

The utility model belongs to the technical field.

Related background art (explaining the defects of the background art)

The purpose of the utility model or the technical problems to be solved

The key points of the technical scheme adopted by the utility model are that

The utility model has the beneficial effects (compared with the background technology)

Attached Drawings and Description of Attached Drawings (required)

Specific implementation of the utility model (as detailed as possible)

(The appended drawings of the instruction manual refer to the description of the text part of the instruction manual supplemented by graphics, so that people can intuitively and vividly understand the technical features and overall technical scheme of the invention. )

Apply for a patent for design:

1. Please provide 1, name, address and zip code of the applicant; 2. A copy of the applicant's business license, organization code certificate or personal identity card; 3. Name, address and postal code of the inventor (natural person); 4. The telephone number, fax number and contact address of the contact person who handles the invention patent application.

2. Go through the entrustment formalities (official seal of the unit or signature of natural person).

3. Provide pictures or photos of the design (preferably taken with a digital camera).

Pictures or photographs refer to six orthographic views (front view, back view, left view, right view, top view and bottom view) and three-dimensional views of a design product. If there is no design point on the view, it can be omitted; If the views are symmetrical, you can omit one view.

The view sizes in the above pictures or photos should be consistent, and the size of the pictures or photos should be between 3cm×8cm and 15cm×22cm.

The background of pictures or photographs shall be monochrome, and there shall be no other articles or patterns irrelevant to this design. At the same time, the photo must be free from strong light, shadows and other factors that affect the image effect.

For the design that needs color protection, a color and a black-and-white picture or photo should be submitted at the same time.

If you are not familiar with the requirements of making pictures or photos, the agency can make the pictures or photos needed for the application.

4. Sign the entrustment contract and pay the patent application fee;

Patent application fee includes two parts: formal fee and agency fee.

General agency fees are as follows

The fees for domestic natural persons and legal persons to apply for invention patents are as follows (per piece):

Inventor's fee (yuan) Agency fee (yuan)

1. Patent application fee 950 4000-6000

2. Increase the substantive examination fee by 2500 1000-2000.

3. Patent certificate registration fee 255-

4. Patent application maintenance fee (after the third year) 300 (per year)

5. Annual authorization fee for the current year: 1-3 years: 900.

Year 4-6: 1200

……..-

The fees for foreign natural persons and legal persons to apply for invention patents are as follows (per piece):

Inventor's fees (RMB) and agency fees (USD) Total (USD)

Patent application fee 950 500 6 15

The cost of substantive examination is 2500150,455.

Patent certificate registration fee is 255 80 1 1 1

Patent application maintenance fee 300 yuan (once a year after the third year)

The annual authorization fee for the current year is 900 or 1200 50 159 or 195.

(Note: the reply to the review opinions will be charged as appropriate)

The fees for domestic natural persons and legal persons to apply for utility model patents are as follows (per piece):

Official expenses of utility model (expenses after mitigation in brackets) Agency fee (RMB)

1. Patent application fee 500 (150) 2500 (excluding drawings)

2. Patent certificate registration fee 205-

3. Annual authorization fee of 600 (180)-

The fees for domestic natural persons and legal persons to apply for design patents are as follows (per piece):

Design fee (deferred) agency fee (yuan)

1. Patent application fee 500 (150) 1000.

2. Patent certificate registration fee 205-

3. Annual authorization fee of 600 (180)-

Note: There may be a patent application subsidy policy issued by the government everywhere, which can subsidize patent fees and consult various institutions. After all, the country's money should not be wasted.

5. It takes about 10-20 working days for the agent to prepare the application materials, and its efficiency depends entirely on the informationization level of the application materials.

After the documents are prepared, the agent will ask the applicant to review the application documents. If there are no questions, you can submit the application. Generally, a patent application acceptance notice will be issued on the day of application, thus entering the examination process.

6, the patent office review procedures

Examiners examine patent procedures.

Invention:

According to the provisions of China's patent law, an invention patent generally goes through the following procedures from application to authorization:

1. It usually takes 20 days to one month to provide disclosure and entrust an agency to write application documents.

2. Submit the application documents, get the notification of acceptance from the Patent Office, determine the application date, and submit an early public statement and request substantive examination on the day of submitting the documents, which can speed up the examination process.

3. The Patent Office will formally review the patent application documents for about 2-3 months, and enter the public preparation stage after the first trial is passed.

It takes about 6-8 months for the patent office to publish the invention application documents.

5. The time for the Patent Office to substantially examine the invention patent documents is about one and a half to two years, during which the examiner communicates with the applicant on the substantive content of the invention, namely novelty, creativity and practicality (entrusting the agency to communicate with the agency to determine the appropriate protection scope of the invention), and this communication may be repeated many times until it is revised to the satisfaction of the examiner.

6, the patent office issued a notice of authorization

7. The applicant shall go through the formalities for obtaining a patent certificate.

8. It takes about 2-3 months to get the patent certificate.

The whole process lasts about two and a half to three years, and the specific time depends on the speed of the examiner's review and the informative degree of the applicant's disclosure.

Utility model and design:

1. It usually takes 10 working days to provide disclosure and entrust an agency to write application documents.

2. Submit the application documents, obtain the notification of acceptance from the Patent Office, and determine the application date.

3. It takes about 3-6 months for the Patent Office to formally review the patent application documents.

4, the patent office issued a notice of authorization

The applicant shall go through the formalities of obtaining the patent certificate.

6. It takes about 2-3 months to get the patent certificate.

The whole process lasts about 1 year, and the specific time depends on the speed of the examiner's review and the informative degree of the applicant's disclosure materials.

7, authorization, licensing matters (pay the license fee, the patent certificate will be issued in about two months) Note that the annual fee is paid one month before and after the application date every year.

With the patent, contact the target manufacturer, transfer or license.