Inventory! The advantages and characteristics of patent application systems in various countries

International Process - Liu Chanyu

At present, the construction of an innovative country in China is constantly advancing, and the idea of intellectual property protection is deeply rooted in people's hearts. In the trend of economic globalization, Chinese enterprises are gradually turning to foreign countries for patent layout in order to better protect their own independent intellectual property rights. This article will briefly introduce the characteristics of patent application systems in common countries, in order to provide reference for Chinese enterprises.

1、 United States: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is responsible for receiving, reviewing, and approving patent and trademark applications. The US patent system has some unique features.

1. Temporary application

Temporary application is a system established to facilitate inventors in filing patent applications for their inventions in a timely manner. It is not a patent application that can truly obtain examination and authorization, it is just a priority basis for subsequent applications. After submitting a provisional application, the applicant may file a corresponding non provisional patent application or request to convert the provisional application into a non provisional application within one year.

2. Information Disclosure Statement (IDS)

The so-called information disclosure statement refers to a system in which patent applicants are required to provide all technical information related to their patent application that they know to USPTO for the purpose of facilitating examination.

3. Continuing Review Request (RCE)

The request for continued examination refers to the procedure in which the applicant can apply for continued examination of the patent application after submitting the request and paying the prescribed fee at the end of the application and examination process.

2、 Europe: According to the European Patent Treaty (EPC), the EPO was established. EPO is a regional patent organization between countries that provides a legal framework for granting European patents through a unified procedure.

1. One application, effective in multiple countries

Once the applicant submits an application at the EPO and obtains authorization from the EPO, they can proceed to the EPO member states that wish to obtain patent protection to complete the procedures for its effectiveness.

2. A European single patent (also known as a unified patent) refers to a European patent that, upon formal authorization, can be registered as a single patent at the request of the patent owner. A single patent will have uniform validity within the territory of all member states participating in the Patent System (UP System).

3、 Japan: The Japan Patent Office (JPO) is responsible for the acceptance, examination, and approval of patent and trademark applications.

1. Early review system

According to the Japanese Patent Law, with search results and comparative document analysis provided, and under certain conditions, JPO may conduct patent application review in advance. For applications from Chinese applicants, this system can generally be used to significantly shorten the examination time of the application.

2. Application types can be converted to each other

According to Japanese law, if certain conditions are met and within a certain period of time, the types of invention, utility model, and design applications can be converted to each other. This system facilitates applicants to change the type of protection after submitting an application and choose protection measures as needed.

4、 South Korea: In 1908, South Korea formulated and published the Patent Order, which directly introduced and applied Japan's legal system. In 1946, the Chartered Institute was established and the first true "Chartered Law" was formulated.

1. Compensatory Patent Protection Period Extension System

This system is a patent protection extension system that compensates applicants for losses caused by excessively long examination periods. After obtaining authorization, according to the applicant's request, the patent protection period can be extended accordingly.

2. Change request

The so-called change application refers to the mutual conversion of the types of utility model patents and invention patent applications (the conversion of invention to utility model only applies to the mechanical field, and patents in other fields are not available).

5、 United Kingdom:

Request priority:

--Increase priority: If a new application has been submitted within 12 months of the priority date, but no priority was claimed at the time of submission, an increase in priority can be claimed within 16 months from the priority date.

--Restoration of priority: Within 14 months from the date of the prior application, a new application can be submitted and the prior application can be requested as the basis for priority.

6、 Netherlands:

No substantive examination: The application system for invention patents in the Netherlands is different from that in China. Invention patent applications can be granted without substantive examination, but the applicant must submit a novelty search request within thirteen months from the date of application.

7、 Luxembourg: The current patent system in Luxembourg is mainly protected by laws such as the Treaty on the Approval of Intellectual Property (Trademarks and Industrial Designs) of the Benelux Union and the Patent Law.

Formal examination: Similar to the Netherlands, Luxembourg's invention patents and short-term invention patents do not require substantive examination procedures to obtain authorization. Luxembourg invention patent applications require a search request to be submitted within 18 months from the application date, or a search report issued by any official search agency within 18 months from the priority date. The novelty assessment of the search report does not affect the authorization of the Luxembourg patent in the application.

8、 Eurasian Patent Organization: The Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO or EA) was officially established on January 1, 1996.

For an invention patent application, if the applicant wishes to seek patent protection in multiple CIS countries at the same time, filing a single Eurasian patent application is often more convenient and advantageous, and the cost is also lower, compared to directly filing separate applications with each national patent office. Applicants who apply for Eurasian patents only need to submit one application in Russian to EAPO and specify the member states of the region. After the patent is granted, it can be protected in the corresponding country.

Authorization and annual fee maintenance procedures are faster and more convenient:

The authorization and effectiveness stage of Eurasian patents is more convenient and rapid. According to the Eurasian Patent Convention, when an application is granted authorization, the applicant only needs to consider each contracting state. If the applicant wishes the Eurasian patent to have legal effect in a contracting state, they only need to pay the first annual fee of that contracting state to the Eurasian Patent Office within the prescribed period. The annual fee maintenance procedure for Eurasian patents is also more convenient compared to European patents. The patentee of Eurasian patents only needs to pay the corresponding annual fee directly to EAPO, and EAPO will then transfer the annual fee to each corresponding effective country.