Patent

1. First-to-file Rule
2. Protection Term: 20 years from the filing date
3. Substantial Examination has to be requested within three years from filing date

Utility Model

1. First-to-file Rule
2. Protection Term: 10 years from the filing date
3. Formality Examination only

Design

1. First-to-file Rule
2. Protection Term: 10 years from the filing date
3. Substantial Examination after Formality Examination

Requirements for Filing an Application

1. Power of Attorney, signed by the applicant (s) or the representative (s) of a company;
2. Assignment, signed by the inventor(s), if the application right is assigned to a company or a legal entity or another person (s);
3. Specification, Drawings and Claims in Chinese language; English version is acceptable to obtain an earlier filing date, but a Translation to Chinese must be supplemented within four months from the filing date;
4. Information of the Name, Address, and Nationality of the inventor(s), applicant(s), and the representative of a company or legal entity (if any), and Chinese characters corresponding to the name and/or address if applicable;
5. The Filing Date, Filing Number, and Country of the corresponding foreign invention patent/utility model/design applications, which have to be lodged at filing if priority is claimed; and
6. Certified Priority Document (if priority is claimed)

Remark:

To get an earliest filing date, facsimile copies of items 3, 4 and 5 above are acceptable for provisional filing, but original and appropriate documents of items 1, 2 and 6 must be supplemented within four months from the filing date.

Payment of Annuity

The annual fee for an invention patent shall be payable commencing from the publication date. The date the patent application was published shall serve as the due date for annuity payments in the subsequent years.
In case the annual fee due is not paid within the regulatory period for payment of patent annuity, it may be paid later within six (6) months after expiry of the said regulatory period provided that the amount of late payment shall be twice as much as the regular amount of annual fee.