33 articles
Searching Figurative Trademarks by Image
Question: When conducting a similarity search for a figurative trademark on the China Trademark Website of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), can a trademark image file be uploaded to perform the search?
Time Limits for Changing Inventors
Question: What are the time limits for changing inventors in a Chinese patent application? Will a request filed after the prescribed deadline necessarily be refused?
Inventor Identity Information in Patent Applications
Question: What inventor identity information must be provided in a patent application request form under the revised Chinese Patent Examination Guidelines?
Refunds of Duplicate or Excess Patent Fees
Question: In China, if the annual fee for a patent has been paid more than once, is it possible to apply for a refund?
Foreign Evidence of Prior Public Use in Invalidation Proceedings
Question: I would like to file an invalidation request against a certain patent, relying on evidence of prior public use to argue that the patent lacks novelty. However, the evidence of prior public use is not from China, but from the United States and Europe. Would such evidence obtained outside China be disqualified or disregarded by the Chinese examiner?
How to claim priority in trademark registration applications in China?
Question: How to claim priority in trademark registration applications in China?
Requesting Deferred Patent Examination
Question: I would like to request a deferred examination for a Chinese invention application, hoping to postpone the examination as much as possible. Is there a way to do so? If yes, what is the maximum duration for which the examination can be deferred?
Assignment Documents at PCT National Phase Entry
Question: A PCT application is going to enter the Chinese national phase, and the applicants were two Japanese companies A and B when filing the PCT application. However, at the PCT international stage, the procedure of change of applicants was carried out, and the application was transferred from companies A and B to company A, then the International Bureau (IB) issued the Notification of Change (Form PCT/IB/306). In this case, is it still necessary to submit the documents proving the transfer of the application right to the CNIPA when entering the Chinese national phase?
Obtaining Documents from Chinese Patent Files
Question: Can a third party access the “statement of opinion” for a Chinese application through the Chinese Patent Examination Information Inquiry System (https://cpquery.cponline.cnipa.gov.cn/)?
Service of Trademark Non-Use Notices on Foreign Registrants
Question: In non-use cancellation cases where the registrant of the mark is a foreign entity, to whom will the China Trademark Office send “the Notice of Providing Evidence of Use”?
Combining Patent Term Adjustment and Extension
Question: If a patent qualifies for both patent term adjustment (PTA) and pharmaceutical patent term extension (PTE) under Article 42 of the Chinese Patent Law, must the patentee choose one, or can both periods be added together?
Online Trademark Searches by Foreign Applicants
Question: Can foreign applicants search trademark information on the website of China Trademark Office?
Online Software Copyright Registration
Question: It is said that in China, software copyright registrations are handled online from June 1, 2023, and the China Copyright Protection Center (CPCC) will no longer accept mailed materials for software copyright registration from June 1. After the software copyright registration becomes paperless, what is the requirement on the applicant's signature? Can electronic seals or electronic signatures be used in uploaded application materials?
Preliminary Approval and Registration Announcements
Question: What is the difference between trademark preliminary approval announcement and registration announcement in China?
Service of Non-Use Notices for Madrid Trademarks
Question: I have a Madrid international registered trademark and obtain the extension protection in China. Now someone has filed a cancellation application against the mark in China based on the ground of non-use for three consecutive years, to whom will the Chinese Trademark Office send the Notification of Submission of Proof of Use?
Deadlines Falling on Holidays or Adjusted Working Days
Question: If the expiration date of a time limit is a statutory holiday or a weekend that is adjusted to be a working day, how should the expiration date be determined?
Patent Prosecution Highway Examination Times
Question: How Fast is the Patent Prosecution Highway in China?
Invalidation Deadlines After Trademark Opposition
Question: According to Article 45 of the Chinese Trademark Law, the period for filing a request for invalidation of a registered trademark is five years from the date of registration of the trademark. We would like to know, for the trademark registered after the opposition procedure, how to determine the starting date of the five years (i.e., the date of registration)?
Remedies When Patent Rights Restoration Is Refused
Question: If the CNIPA refuses a request for restoration of patent rights and the party disagrees with that decision, what remedies are available?
Correcting Errors in Trademark Documents
Question: If there are obvious errors in the trademark application documents or trademark registration documents, can they be amended?
Activities of Foreign Patent Agency Representative Offices
Question: Are resident representative offices of foreign patent agencies in China allowed to engage in Chinese patent affairs such as acting for patent applications or invalidating patent rights?
Patent Term Adjustment for Examination Delays
Question: In order to make up for the loss of the patent term caused by the unreasonable delay in the substantive examination of the invention patent, can we request compensation for the patent term?
Claiming Priority from a US Provisional Application
Question: I want to know if a US provisional application could be used as a priority for a Chinese patent application?
Time Limits for Further Divisional Applications
Question: An examiner has identified a lack of unity in a divisional application. When must the applicant file a further divisional application in response to the examiner’s opinion?
Patent Annuity Periods and Payment Queries
Question: How are patent years calculated for annual fee payments in China? Can payment information be checked on the CNIPA website?
Trademark Examination and Review Standards
Question: Do the Trademark Office’s Examination Department and Review Department apply different standards when assessing trademark applications?
Calculating the Non-Use Period for International Trademarks
Question: How to determine the three-year period for a cancellation request against a registered international trademark on the ground of non-use for three consecutive years?
Scope of Provisional Patent Protection
Question: If the protection scope claimed by the applicant at the time of publication of the invention patent application is inconsistent with the protection scope of the patent right at the time of the announcement of grant of the invention patent, how to determine that the doer has exploited the patent during the temporary protection period (i.e. the period from the date of publication of the invention patent application to the date of announcement of grant of the invention patent)?
Foreign Nationals and China’s Patent Attorney Examination
Question: Are foreigners allowed to take the Chinese patent bar exam?
Amendments in Multi-Class Trademark Applications
Question: A trademark application covers three classes, but the Trademark Office requires an amendment to the identification of goods in only one class. If the amendment is not filed or is not accepted, will the other two classes be affected?
Obtaining Paper Patent Certificates
Question: I heard China Patent Office would cease issuing Paper Patent Certificates. If we want the Paper Patent Certificates, how to get it?
Paying Several Years of Chinese Patent Annuities
Question: Must Chinese patent annuities be paid one year at a time, or can several years—for example, five—be paid together?
Changing a Product Claim to a Manufacturing-Process Claim
Question: During substantive examination in China, an examiner finds that claim 1, directed to a product, lacks an inventive step. May the applicant amend it to claim a process for manufacturing that product in order to overcome the objection?
No articles match your search.