Can a patent application be authorized after it is published?

With the continuous development of social economy, more and more people are aware of the importance of patent rights. Application for patent rights requires multiple procedures. Only then can you have your own patent. The following is the relevant legal knowledge introduced to you by the editor of Legal Savior Network about "Will a patent application be authorized after it is published?" You are welcome to read it.

Will the patent application be authorized after it is published?

After the patent application is published, It may not be possible to authorize the patent. After the patent is published and the applicant submits a substantive examination and meets the conditions for authorization, the invention patent right will be granted. Whether to authorize or not needs to be decided based on the results of substantive examination.

(1) Acceptance stage

Received by the Patent Office Examination after patent application

Patent application procedure

If the acceptance conditions are met, the Patent Office The application date will be determined, an application number will be given, and after the document list has been verified, an acceptance notice will be issued to notify the applicant. If the application documents are not typed, printed or illegible, or have been altered; or the drawings and pictures are not drawn with drawing tools and black ink, and the photos are blurred or altered; or the application documents are incomplete; or the request is missing The applicant's name and address are unknown; or the patent application category is unclear or cannot be determined; and patent applications submitted directly by foreign entities and individuals without a foreign-related patent agency will not be accepted.

(2) Preliminary review stage

If the accepted patent application pays the application fee in accordance with regulations, it will automatically enter the preliminary examination stage. Before the preliminary examination, the invention patent application must first undergo a confidentiality review. If confidentiality is required, it shall be handled according to confidentiality procedures.

In the preliminary examination, it is necessary to examine whether there are obvious defects in the application, mainly including whether the content of the examination falls within the scope of not granting patent rights in the Patent Law and whether it is obvious. The lack of technical content cannot constitute a technical solution, whether it lacks unity, whether the application documents are complete and in good formatMeet the requirements. If you are a foreign applicant, you will also need to undergo a qualification review and application procedures review. If the application is unqualified, the Patent Office will notify the applicant to make corrections or state opinions within the prescribed time limit. If the applicant fails to respond within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn. If the defect has not been eliminated after the reply, it shall be rejected. If the invention patent application passes the preliminary examination, a preliminary examination passing notice will be issued. For utility model and design patent applications, in addition to the above review, it is also necessary to review whether they are obviously the same as existing patents and are not a new technical solution or new design. If no reason for rejection is found after the preliminary examination. Will go directly to the authorization order.

(3) Publication stage

Invention patent application starts from The publication stage begins when the preliminary examination qualification notice is issued. If the applicant does not make a request for early disclosure, it will not enter the disclosure preparation process until 15 months from the date of application. If the applicant requests early disclosure, the application will immediately enter the disclosure preparation process. After format review, editing and proofreading, computer processing, typesetting and printing, the summary of the specification will be published in the Patent Gazette about three months later and a separate specification will be published. After the application is published, the applicant obtains the right to temporary protection.

(4) Substantive examination stage

Invention patent application After the announcement, if the applicant has submitted a substantive examination request and it has taken effect, the applicant will enter the substantive examination procedure. If the applicant has not submitted a request for substantive examination within three years from the date of application, or the request for substantive examination has not taken effect, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.

During the actual examination, a comprehensive review will be conducted on whether the patent application has novelty, creativity, practicality and other substantive conditions stipulated in the patent law. If upon review it is determined that the conditions for authorization are not met or there are various deficiencies, the applicant will be notified to state their opinions or make modifications within the specified time. If no reply is made within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn, and the application still does not meet the requirements after multiple replies. , be dismissed. The actual review period is long. If authorization has not been granted within two years from the date of application, the application maintenance fee must be paid every year from the third year. If it is not paid within the time limit, the application will be deemed to have been withdrawn.

If no reason for rejection is found during the substantive examination, the authorization procedure will be entered in accordance with regulations.

(5) Authorization stage

Utility model and appearance Preliminary review of design patent application and invention patentIf no reason for rejection is found after substantive examination of the application, the examiner will issue an authorization notice, and the application will be prepared for authorization registration. After reviewing the legal validity and completeness of the authorization text, and proofreading and modifying the bibliographic items of the patent application, the Patent Office will After issuing the authorization notice and registration formalities notice, the applicant shall complete the registration formalities and pay the prescribed fees within 2 months after receiving the notice. If the registration formalities are completed on time, the Patent Office will grant the patent right. A patent certificate is issued, recorded in the patent register, and announced in the Patent Gazette two months later. Failure to complete the registration procedures as required will be deemed to have given up the right to obtain the patent right.

(6) Review stage

The patent review process is When a patent application is rejected, a remedy is provided to the applicant. According to the provisions of Article 41 of the Patent Law, the Patent Reexamination Board accepts and examines reexamination requests and makes decisions. Reexamination request cases include cases in which a person is dissatisfied with the decision to reject a patent application in the preliminary examination and substantive examination procedures and requests for patent reexamination. Only the patent applicant has the right to initiate the patent reexamination procedure, and must submit it to the Patent Reexamination Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office within 3 months of receiving the rejection notice.

(7) Patent invalidity

Patent in the enterprise In application and patent application, patent invalidation is one of the patent regulations most used by enterprises and units (should be second only to patent application). Patent invalidation has become a necessary means and technique in patent litigation.

The legal consequence of invalidating a patent right is that the invalidated patent right is deemed to have ceased to exist from the beginning. Anyone who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right invalid or to maintain the patent right may file a lawsuit in the People's Court within three months from the date of receipt of the notice.

The decision to declare the patent right invalid has been fulfilled or enforced for the judgment or ruling on patent infringement made by the people's court before the patent right was declared invalid and has been executed. Decisions on handling patent infringement disputes, as well as patent implementation licensing contracts and patent rights transfer contracts that have been performed, do not have retroactive effect. However, compensation should be provided for losses caused to others due to the bad faith of the patentee.

If in accordance with the above provisions, the patentee or patent transferor shall not return patent royalties or patent transfer fees to the licensee or patent transferee , which is a clear violation of the principle of fairness, the patentee or patent transferor shallThe licensor or patent transferee returns all or part of the patent royalties or patent transfer fees.

It can be seen from this that the legal consequences of declaring patent rights invalid are quite serious. For patent applicants, it is important to do the preliminary work of applying for a patent, such as patent literature search, novelty search, market research, etc.

Through the above relevant knowledge, we can clearly understand that after a patent application is made public, it may not be authorized. At the same time, the Legal Savior Network also provides you with online lawyer consultation services, and you are welcome to have legal consultation.