The Patent Law was promulgated in 1984 and amended in 1992, 2000 and 2008 respectively. The latest revision entered into force on October 1, 2009.
There are 76 articles in total.
The key points are as follows:
1.This Law is enacted for the purpose of protecting the lawful rights and interests of patentees, encouraging invention-creation, promoting the application of invention-creation
2.The invention-creations mean inventions, utility models and designs.
(1)Inventions mean new technical solutions proposed for a product, a process or the improvement thereof.
(2)Utility models mean new technical solutions proposed for the shape and structure of a product, or the combination thereof, which are fit for practical use.
(3)Designs mean, with respect to a product, new designs of the shape, pattern, or the combination thereof, or the combination of the color with shape and pattern, which are rich in an aesthetic appeal and are fit for industrial application.
3.The Patent Administration Department under the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of patent-related work nationwide. It shall accept and examine patent applications in a uniform way and grant patent rights in accordance with law.
4.Where a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization without a regular residence or business site in China applies for a patent in China, the application shall be handled in accordance with the agreements concluded by the country he or it belongs to and China or the international treaties to which both the countries have acceded or in accordance with this Law on the principle of reciprocity.
5.If a foreigner, foreign enterprise, or other foreign organization without a regular residence or business site in China intends to apply for a patent or handle other patent-related matters in China, he or it shall entrust a legally established patent agency with the application and such matters.
6.Inventions and utility models for which patent rights are to be granted shall be ones which are novel, creative and of practical use.
7.Under some particular circumstances, the patent administration department under the State Council may, upon application made by any unit or individual that possesses the conditions for exploitation, grant a compulsory license for exploitation of an invention patent or utility model patent
8.The amount of compensation for patent right infringement shall be determined according to the patentee’s actual losses caused by the infringement. If it is hard to determine the actual losses, the amount of compensation may be determined according to the benefits acquired by the infringer through the infringement. If it is hard to determine the losses of the patentee or the benefits acquired by the infringer, the amount of compensation may be determined according to the reasonably multiplied amount of the royalties of that patent.