Patent Law of the People's Republic of China

(Adopted at the Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on March 12, 1984, amended for the first time in accordance with the Decision on Amending the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China adopted at the 27th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Seventh National People's Congress on September 4, 1992, and amended at the 17th Meeting of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress on August 25, 2000) The second amendment to the Decision on Amending the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China is based on the third amendment to the Decision on Amending the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China issued at the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on December 27, 2008 and the 22nd meeting of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress on October 17, 2020 Decision on Amending the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China (Fourth Amendment)

catalogue

Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Conditions for Granting Patent Right
Chapter III Application for Patent
Chapter IV Examination and Approval of Patent Applications
Chapter V Term, Termination and Invalidation of Patent Right
Chapter VI Special License for Exploitation of Patent
Chapter VII Protection of Patent Right
Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 This Law is formulated with a view to protecting the legitimate rights and interests of the patentee, encouraging inventions and creations, promoting the application of inventions and creations, improving the ability to innovate, and promoting scientific and technological progress and economic and social development.
Article 2 For the purposes of this Law, "inventions creations" mean inventions, utility models and designs.
"Invention" means a new technical solution to a product, method or improvement thereof.
The term "utility model" means a new technical solution to the shape, structure or combination thereof of a product that is suitable for practical use.
The term "design" refers to a new design of the overall or partial shape, pattern or their combination, or the combination of color and shape, pattern of a product that is aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application.
Article 3 The patent administration department under the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of patent work throughout the country; Uniformly accept and examine patent applications and grant patent rights according to law.
The administrative departments for patent affairs under the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government are responsible for the administration of patents within their respective administrative areas.
Article 4 Where an invention creation for which a patent is applied involves national security or vital interests and needs to be kept confidential, it shall be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of the State.
Article 5 No patent right shall be granted for any invention creation that violates the law, social morality or impairs the public interest.
No patent right shall be granted for inventions and creations that are obtained or utilized in violation of the provisions of laws and administrative regulations and that are completed by relying on such genetic resources.
Article 6 An invention creation made in the performance of the tasks of the entity to which it belongs or mainly by making use of the material and technical resources of the entity is a service invention creation. The right to apply for a patent for a service invention creation belongs to that entity, which shall be the patentee after the application is approved. The entity may dispose of its right to apply for patent for service invention creation and patent right according to law, and promote the implementation and utilization of relevant invention creation.
For a non service invention creation, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the inventor or creator; After the application is approved, the inventor or designer shall be the patentee.
For an invention creation made by making use of the material and technical conditions of the entity to which it belongs, if the entity and the inventor or designer have entered into a contract stipulating the right to apply for a patent and the ownership of the patent right, such agreement shall prevail.
Article 7 No entity or individual may suppress an inventor or creator's application for a patent for a non service invention creation.
Article 8 For an invention creation jointly made by two or more entities or individuals, or completed by one entity or individual under the entrustment of another entity or individual, unless otherwise agreed, the right to apply for a patent belongs to the entity or individual that has completed or jointly completed the invention creation; After the application is approved, the entity or individual applying for it shall be the patentee.
Article 9 Only one patent right may be granted for the same invention creation. However, if the same applicant applies for both a utility model patent and an invention patent for the same invention creation on the same day, and the utility model patent right obtained first has not been terminated, and the applicant declares to abandon the utility model patent right, the invention patent right may be granted.
Where two or more applicants respectively apply for a patent for the same invention creation, the patent right shall be granted to the first applicant.
Article 10 The right to apply for a patent and the patent right may be transferred.
Where a Chinese entity or individual transfers the right to apply for a patent or the patent right to a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization, it or he shall go through the formalities in accordance with the provisions of the relevant laws and administrative regulations.
Where the right to apply for a patent or the patent right is assigned, the parties concerned shall conclude a written contract and register it with the patent administration department under the State Council, which shall make an announcement. The assignment of the right to apply for a patent or the patent right shall take effect as of the date of registration.
Article 11 After the grant of the patent right for invention and utility model, except as otherwise provided in this Law, no entity or individual may exploit its patent without the permission of the patentee, that is, may not manufacture, use, offer to sell, sell or import its patented products, or use its patented process, or use, offer to sell, sell or import products obtained directly by the patented process, for production and business purposes.
After the patent right for design has been granted, no entity or individual may exploit its patent without the permission of the patentee, that is, may not manufacture, offer to sell, sell or import its patented product for production and business purposes.
Article 12 Where any entity or individual exploits the patent of another, it or he shall conclude a license contract for exploitation with the patentee and pay the patentee a fee for the exploitation of the patent. The licensee has no right to allow any entity or individual other than those specified in the contract to exploit the patent.
Article 13 After the publication of an application for a patent for invention, the applicant may require the entity or individual exploiting the invention to pay an appropriate fee.
Article 14 Where the co owners of the right to apply for a patent or the patent right have agreed on the exercise of their rights, such agreement shall prevail. In the absence of such agreement, the co owners may exploit the patent alone or license others to exploit the patent by ordinary license; Where another person is authorized to exploit the patent, the royalties collected shall be distributed among the co owners.
Except as provided in the preceding paragraph, the exercise of the joint patent application right or patent right shall be subject to the consent of all the co owners.
Article 15 The entity to which the patent right has been granted shall award the inventor or creator of a service invention creation; After a patent for invention creation has been exploited, the inventor or designer shall be given reasonable remuneration in accordance with the scope of its popularization and application and the economic benefits obtained.
The State encourages the units that have been granted patent rights to implement property rights incentives and adopt equity, options, dividends and other methods to enable the inventors or designers to reasonably share the benefits of innovation.
Article 16 The inventor or designer shall have the right to indicate in the patent documents that he is the inventor or designer.
The patentee has the right to mark the patent mark on the patented product or on the package of the product.
Article 17 Where a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization that has no habitual residence or business office in China applies for a patent in China, the matter shall be handled in accordance with this Law in accordance with the agreement concluded between the country to which it belongs and China, or in accordance with the international treaty to which both countries are parties, or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity.
Article 18 Where a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization without a habitual residence or business office in China applies for a patent or handles other patent matters in China, it shall entrust a legally established patent agency to handle the matter.
Where a Chinese entity or individual applies for a patent or handles other patent matters in China, it or he may entrust a legally established patent agency to handle the matter.
The patent agency shall abide by laws and administrative regulations, and handle patent applications or other patent matters as entrusted by the principal; With respect to the contents of the principal's invention creation, except where the patent application has been published or announced, he shall be responsible for keeping confidential. The specific administrative measures for patent agencies shall be formulated by the State Council.
Article 19. Any entity or individual that applies to a foreign country for a patent for an invention or utility model completed in China shall, in advance, report to the patent administration department under the State Council for confidential examination. The procedures and time limit for confidentiality review shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the State Council.
Chinese entities or individuals may file international applications for patents in accordance with the relevant international treaties to which the People's Republic of China is a party. Where an applicant files an international application for patent, it shall comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
The patent administration department under the State Council shall handle international patent applications in accordance with the relevant international treaties to which the People's Republic of China is a party, this Law and the relevant provisions of the State Council.
Where an application for a patent for an invention or utility model is filed in China in violation of the provisions of the first paragraph of this Article, no patent right shall be granted.
Article 20 The application for a patent and the exercise of the patent right shall follow the principle of good faith. It shall not abuse the patent right to damage the public interest or the legitimate rights and interests of others.
Abuse of patent right, elimination or restriction of competition, which constitutes a monopolistic act, shall be handled in accordance with the Anti monopoly Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 21 The patent administration department under the State Council shall, in accordance with the requirements of objectivity, impartiality, accuracy and timeliness, handle the applications and requests for patents according to law.
The patent administration department under the State Council shall strengthen the construction of the public service system for patent information, publish patent information in a complete, accurate and timely manner, provide basic patent data, publish patent bulletins regularly, and promote the dissemination and utilization of patent information.
Before the publication or announcement of a patent application, the staff members of the patent administration department under the State Council and relevant personnel shall be responsible for keeping its contents confidential.

Chapter II Conditions for Granting Patent Right

Article 22. Any invention or utility model for which patent right is granted shall possess novelty, inventiveness and practicality.
Novelty means that the invention or utility model does not belong to the prior art; Neither has any entity or individual applied to the patent administration department under the State Council for the same invention or utility model before the application date and recorded it in the patent application documents published or the patent documents announced after the application date.
Creativity means that, compared with the prior art, the invention has prominent substantive features and significant progress, and the utility model has substantive features and progress.
Practicability means that the invention or utility model can be manufactured or used and can produce positive effects.
The term "prior art" as used in this Law refers to technology that was known to the public at home and abroad before the date of application.
Article 23 A design for which a patent right has been granted shall not be an existing design; Neither has any entity or individual applied to the patent administration department under the State Council for the same design before the application date and recorded it in the patent documents announced after the application date.
A design for which a patent right has been granted shall be obviously different from an existing design or a combination of existing design features.
The design for which patent right has been granted may not conflict with the lawful rights that have been acquired by others prior to the date of application.
The term "existing design" as mentioned in this Law refers to a design that was known to the public at home and abroad before the date of application.
Article 24. An invention creation for which a patent is applied for shall not lose its novelty if, within six months prior to the date of filing, it:
（1） When the state of emergency or extraordinary circumstances occurs, it is first disclosed for the purpose of public interest;
（2） Displayed for the first time at an international exhibition sponsored or recognized by the Chinese government;
（3） First published at a prescribed academic or technical meeting;
（4） Other persons disclose the contents without the consent of the applicant.
Article 25 No patent right shall be granted for any of the following:
（1） Scientific discovery;
（2） Rules and methods of intellectual activities;
（3） Diagnosis and treatment of diseases;
（4） Animal and plant varieties;
（5） Nuclear transformation method and materials obtained by nuclear transformation method;
（6） A design that mainly serves as a logo for the pattern, color or combination of the two of printed matter.
A patent right may be granted in accordance with the provisions of this Law for the production method of the products listed in Item (4) of the preceding paragraph.

Chapter III Application for Patent

Article 26 Where an application for a patent for invention or utility model is filed, a written request, a description and its abstract, a patent claim and other documents shall be submitted.
The written request shall state the title of the invention or utility model, the name of the inventor, the name and address of the applicant, and other matters.
The description shall give a clear and complete description of the invention or utility model, subject to the realization of the invention or utility model by a person skilled in the technical field; When necessary, drawings shall be attached. The technical essentials of the invention or utility model shall be briefly described.
The claims shall, on the basis of the description, clearly and concisely define the scope of patent protection claimed.
For inventions and creations that rely on genetic resources, the applicant shall state the direct source and original source of the genetic resources in the patent application documents; If the applicant is unable to explain the original source, it shall state the reasons.
Article 27 Where an application for a patent for design is filed, the applicant shall submit a written request, drawings or photographs of the design, a brief description of the design and other documents.
The relevant pictures or photographs submitted by the applicant shall clearly show the design of the product for which patent protection is sought.
Article 28 The date on which the patent administration department under the State Council receives the patent application documents shall be the application date. If the application documents are mailed, the date of mailing shall be the date of application.
Article 29 Where an applicant files an application for a patent for the same subject matter in China within 12 months from the date on which he first filed an application for a patent for invention or utility model in a foreign country, or within 6 months from the date on which he first filed an application for a patent for design in a foreign country, he may enjoy the right of priority in accordance with an agreement concluded between the foreign country and China, an international treaty to which both countries are parties, or the principle of mutual recognition of the right of priority.
Where, within 12 months from the date of the first filing of an application for a patent for invention or utility model in China, or within 6 months from the date of the first filing of an application for a patent for design in China, the applicant files an application for a patent for the same subject matter with the patent administration department under the State Council, he may enjoy the right of priority.
Article 30 Where an applicant claims the right of priority for a patent for invention or utility model, he or it shall make a written declaration at the time of application, and shall, within 16 months from the date of filing the first application, submit a copy of the patent application documents first filed.
Where an applicant claims the right of priority for a patent for design, he/she shall make a written declaration at the time of application and submit a copy of the patent application document first filed within three months.
Where the applicant fails to make a written declaration or fails to submit a copy of the patent application documents within the time limit, the right of priority shall be deemed not to have been claimed.
Article 31 An application for a patent for invention or utility model shall be limited to one invention or utility model. Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to one general inventive concept may be filed as one application.
An application for a patent for design shall be limited to one design. Two or more similar designs for the same product, or two or more designs for products of the same category that are sold or used in sets, may be filed as one application.
Article 32. The applicant may withdraw his or its application for a patent at any time before the patent right is granted.
Article 33 The applicant may amend his or its patent application documents, but the amendment to the application documents for a patent for invention or utility model may not go beyond the scope of the original description and claims, and the amendment to the application documents for a patent for design may not go beyond the scope of the original drawings or photographs.

Chapter IV Examination and Approval of Patent Applications

Article 34 Where, after receiving an application for a patent for invention, the patent administration department under the State Council, after preliminary examination, finds that it is in conformity with the requirements of this Law, it shall publish it immediately after the expiration of 18 months from the date of application. The patent administration department under the State Council may, at the request of the applicant, publish the application at an early date.
Article 35. Within three years from the date of filing an application for a patent for invention, the patent administration department under the State Council may, at the request of the applicant at any time, examine the substance of the application; If the applicant fails to request substantive examination within the time limit without justified reasons, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
The patent administration department under the State Council may, when it deems it necessary, examine the application for a patent for invention in substance on its own.
Article 36 When the applicant for a patent for invention requests examination as to substance, he shall submit the reference materials relating to his invention before the date of filing.
Where an application for a patent for invention has been filed in a foreign country, the patent administration department under the State Council may require the applicant to submit, within a specified period of time, the information that the country has searched for the purpose of examining the application or the information on the results of the examination; If the application is not submitted within the time limit without justified reasons, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Article 37 Where, after substantial examination of the application for a patent for invention, the administrative department for patent under the State Council finds that it is not in conformity with the provisions of this Law, it shall notify the applicant and request him to state his views within a specified time limit, or amend his application; If no reply is made within the time limit without justified reasons, the application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn.
Article 38 Where, after the applicant has stated his opinions or made amendments, the patent administration department under the State Council still considers that the application for a patent for invention is not in conformity with the provisions of this Law, it shall reject it.
Article 39 Where, after examination as to substance, no reason is found for rejection of an application for a patent for invention, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a decision to grant a patent right for invention, issue a certificate of patent for invention, and register and publish it at the same time. The patent right for invention shall take effect as of the date of announcement.
Article 40 Where, after preliminary examination, no reason is found for rejecting an application for a patent for utility model or design, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a decision to grant the patent right for utility model or design, issue the corresponding patent certificate, and register and publish it at the same time. The patent right for utility model and the patent right for design shall take effect as of the date of announcement.
Article 41 Where the applicant for patent is not satisfied with the decision of the patent administration department under the State Council to reject the application, he may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, request the patent administration department under the State Council for reexamination. After reexamination, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a decision and notify the patent applicant.
Where the applicant for a patent is not satisfied with the reexamination decision of the patent administration department under the State Council, he may, within three months from the date of receipt of the notification, institute legal proceedings in the people's court.

Chapter V Term, Termination and Invalidation of Patent Right

Article 42 The term of the patent right for invention shall be twenty years, the term of the patent right for utility model shall be ten years, and the term of the patent right for design shall be fifteen years, all calculated from the date of application.
Where a patent right for invention is granted at the expiration of four years from the date of application for a patent for invention and three years from the date of request for substantive examination, the patent administration department under the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, compensate the patentee for the unreasonable delay in the process of authorization of the patent for invention, except for the unreasonable delay caused by the applicant.
In order to compensate for the time taken for the review and approval of new drugs, the patent administration department under the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, compensate for the patent duration of the invention patents related to new drugs that have obtained the marketing license in China. The compensation period shall not exceed five years, and the total effective patent right period after the new drug is approved for marketing shall not exceed fourteen years.
Article 43 The patentee shall pay an annual fee starting from the year in which the patent right is granted.
Article 44 In any of the following circumstances, the patent right shall terminate before the expiration of the term:
（1） Failing to pay the annual fee as required;
（2） The patentee waives his patent right in a written statement.
Where the patent right terminates before its expiration, it shall be registered and announced by the patent administration department under the State Council.
Article 45. From the date when the patent administration department under the State Council announced the grant of the patent right, if any entity or individual considers that the grant of the patent right is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law, it or he may request the patent administration department under the State Council to declare the patent right invalid.
Article 46 The patent administration department under the State Council shall promptly examine and make a decision on the request for invalidation of the patent right, and notify the person making the request and the patentee. The decision declaring the patent right invalid shall be registered and announced by the patent administration department under the State Council.
If he is not satisfied with the decision of the patent administration department under the State Council declaring the patent right invalid or maintaining the patent right, he may institute legal proceedings in the people's court within three months from the date of receiving the notification. The people's court shall notify the other party to the invalidation request procedure to participate in the litigation as a third party.
Article 47 A patent right that has been declared invalid shall be deemed to have ceased to exist from the beginning.
The decision declaring the patent right invalid shall have no retroactive effect on the judgments and conciliation statements on patent infringement made and executed by the people's court before the declaration of the patent right invalid, the decisions on handling patent infringement disputes that have been fulfilled or enforced, and the patent license contracts and patent right transfer contracts that have been fulfilled. However, if the patentee has caused losses to others in bad faith, compensation shall be made.
If, in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the compensation for patent infringement, patent royalties or patent right transfer fees are not returned, which obviously violates the principle of fairness, they shall be returned in whole or in part.

Chapter VI Special License for Exploitation of Patent

Article 48 The patent administration department under the State Council and the patent administration department of the local people's government shall, together with the relevant departments at the same level, take measures to strengthen patent public services and promote the exploitation and utilization of patents.
Article 49 Where a patent for invention of a State owned enterprise or institution is of great significance to the interests of the State or the public interest, the relevant competent department under the State Council and the people's government of a province, autonomous region or municipality directly under the Central Government may, subject to the approval of the State Council, decide to popularize it within the approved scope and allow the designated entity to exploit it, and the exploiting entity shall, in accordance with State regulations, pay a fee for exploitation to the patentee.
Article 50 Where a patentee voluntarily declares in writing to the patent administration department under the State Council that he is willing to permit any entity or individual to exploit his patent, and specifies the method and standard of payment of the licensing fee, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a public announcement and implement an open license. Where a declaration of opening license is made for a patent for utility model or design, an evaluation report on the patent right shall be provided.
Where the patentee withdraws the declaration of opening license, it shall submit it in writing and the patent administration department under the State Council shall publish it. If the opening license declaration is withdrawn by public announcement, the validity of the opening license granted earlier shall not be affected.
Article 51. Where any entity or individual is willing to exploit the patent under the opening license, it or he shall notify the patentee in writing and, after paying the licensing fee in accordance with the published method and standard for payment of the licensing fee, obtain a license for exploitation of the patent.
During the implementation of the open license, the annual patent fee paid by the patentee shall be reduced or exempted accordingly.
The patentee implementing an open license may, after consultation with the licensee on the licensing fee, grant an ordinary license, but may not grant an exclusive or exclusive license to the patent.
Article 52 Where a dispute arises between the parties concerning the implementation of the opening license, it shall be settled through consultation by the parties concerned; If the parties are unwilling to consult or the consultation fails, they may request the patent administration department under the State Council to mediate, or they may institute legal proceedings in the people's court.
Article 53. Under any of the following circumstances, the patent administration department under the State Council may grant a compulsory license to exploit the patent for invention or utility model upon the application of any entity or individual that is qualified for exploitation:
（1） The patentee has failed to exploit or fully exploit his patent without justifiable reasons at the expiration of three years from the date of grant of the patent right and four years from the date of filing of the patent application;
（2） The patentee's act of exercising the patent right is recognized as a monopolistic act in accordance with the law, in order to eliminate or reduce the adverse impact of such act on competition.
Article 54. The patent administration department under the State Council may grant a compulsory license to exploit the patent for invention or utility model in the event of a state of emergency or an extraordinary situation in the country, or for the purposes of the public interest.
Article 55 For the purpose of public health, the patent administration department under the State Council may grant a compulsory license to manufacture and export the patented drugs to a country or region that complies with the provisions of the relevant international treaties to which the People's Republic of China is a party.
Article 56 Where an invention or utility model for which a patent right has been granted represents significant technological progress of significant economic significance compared with an invention or utility model for which a patent right has been granted previously, and its exploitation depends on the exploitation of the previous invention or utility model, the patent administration department under the State Council may, upon the application of the latter patentee, grant a compulsory license to exploit the previous invention or utility model.
Where a compulsory license for exploitation is granted in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the patent administration department under the State Council may, upon the application of the previous patentee, also grant a compulsory license to exploit the later invention or utility model.
Article 57 Where the invention creation involved in the compulsory license is a semiconductor technology, its implementation shall be limited to the purposes of public interest and the circumstances specified in Item (2) of Article 53 of this Law.
Article 58 Except for the compulsory license granted in accordance with the provisions of Item (2) of Article 53 and Article 55 of this Law, the compulsory license shall be mainly used to supply the domestic market.
Article 59 Any entity or individual applying for a compulsory license in accordance with the provisions of Item (1) of Article 53 or Article 56 of this Law shall provide evidence to prove that it requested the patentee to license the exploitation of the patent on reasonable terms, but failed to obtain a license within a reasonable time.
Article 60 The decision made by the patent administration department under the State Council to grant a compulsory license for exploitation shall be notified to the patentee in a timely manner, and shall be registered and announced.
The decision to grant a compulsory license for implementation shall specify the scope and time of implementation on the basis of the reasons for the compulsory license. When the reasons for the compulsory license are eliminated and no longer occur, the patent administration department under the State Council shall, at the request of the patentee, make a decision to terminate the compulsory license after examination.
Article 61 A unit or individual that has obtained a compulsory license for exploitation shall not have an exclusive right to exploitation, and shall not have the right to allow exploitation by others.
Article 62. The entity or individual that has obtained a compulsory license for exploitation shall pay the patentee a reasonable exploitation fee, or deal with the issue of exploitation fees in accordance with the provisions of the relevant international treaties to which the People's Republic of China is a party. Where royalties are paid, the amount shall be negotiated by both parties; If the two parties cannot reach an agreement, the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a ruling.
Article 63 Where the patentee is not satisfied with the decision of the patent administration department under the State Council on a compulsory license for exploitation, or the patentee and the entity or individual that has obtained the compulsory license for exploitation are not satisfied with the decision of the patent administration department under the State Council on the fee for exploitation, they may, within three months from the date of receiving the notification, institute legal proceedings in the people's court.

Chapter VII Protection of Patent Right

Article 64 The scope of protection of the patent right for invention or utility model shall be subject to the contents of the claims, and the description and drawings may be used to interpret the contents of the claims.
The scope of protection of the patent right for design shall be subject to the design of the product shown in the picture or photograph. A brief description may be used to explain the design of the product shown in the picture or photograph.
Article 65 Where a dispute arises from the exploitation of a patent without the permission of the patentee, that is, the infringement of its patent right, the parties concerned shall settle the dispute through consultation; If the parties are unwilling to consult or the consultation fails, the patentee or interested party may bring a suit in the people's court, or request the department for the administration of patent work to handle the matter. When the department for the administration of patent work handles the case, if it determines that the infringement is established, it may order the infringer to stop the infringement immediately. If the party concerned is not satisfied, it may bring a suit in a people's court in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China within 15 days from the date of receiving the notice of handling; If the infringer neither brings a suit nor stops the infringing act within the time limit, the administrative department for patent affairs may apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement. The department for the administration of patent work handling the matter may, at the request of the party concerned, mediate the amount of compensation for the infringement of the patent right; If mediation fails, the parties may bring a suit in a people's court in accordance with the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 66 Where a patent infringement dispute involves a patent for invention of a new product manufacturing method, the entity or individual that manufactures the same product shall provide proof that its product manufacturing method is different from the patented method.
Where a patent infringement dispute involves a patent for utility model or design, the people's court or the patent administration department may require the patentee or interested party to issue a patent evaluation report made by the patent administration department under the State Council after searching, analyzing and evaluating the relevant utility model or design as evidence for hearing and handling the patent infringement dispute; The patentee, interested party or alleged infringer may also issue a patent evaluation report on their own initiative.
Article 67 In a dispute over patent infringement, if the alleged infringer has evidence to prove that the technology or design it implements belongs to the prior art or design, it does not constitute an infringement of the patent right.
Article 68 Where a person counterfeits a patent, he shall, in addition to bearing civil liability according to law, be ordered by the department responsible for patent law enforcement to make corrections and make a public announcement. The illegal gains shall be confiscated and a fine of not more than five times the illegal gains may be imposed; If there are no illegal gains or the illegal gains are less than 50000 yuan, a fine of less than 250000 yuan may be imposed; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Article 69 The department in charge of patent law enforcement has the right to take the following measures when investigating and dealing with suspected acts of counterfeiting patents on the basis of the evidence already obtained:
（1） Inquire relevant parties and investigate the situation related to suspected illegal acts;
（2） Conduct on-site inspection on the places where the parties are suspected of illegal acts;
（3） Consulting and copying contracts, invoices, account books and other relevant materials related to suspected illegal acts;
（4） Inspect the products related to suspected violations;
（5） The products that have been proved to be counterfeit patents may be sealed up or detained.
The administrative department for patent work may, at the request of the patentee or interested party, take the measures listed in Items (1), (2) and (4) of the preceding paragraph when handling a dispute over patent infringement.
When the department in charge of patent law enforcement and the department in charge of patent affairs exercise the functions and powers specified in the preceding two paragraphs, the parties concerned shall provide assistance and cooperation, and shall not refuse or obstruct.
Article 70 The patent administration department under the State Council may, at the request of the patentee or any interested party, resolve any patent infringement dispute that has a significant national impact.
The administrative department for patent affairs of the local people's government shall, at the request of the patentee or interested party, handle disputes over patent infringement, and may deal with cases of infringement of the same patent right within its own administrative region in a consolidated manner; A case of cross regional infringement of the same patent right may be submitted to the administrative department for patent work of the local people's government at a higher level for handling.
Article 71 The amount of compensation for the infringement of the patent right shall be determined on the basis of the actual losses suffered by the obligee as a result of the infringement or the benefits obtained by the infringer as a result of the infringement; Where it is difficult to determine the loss of the obligee or the benefit obtained by the infringer, it shall be reasonably determined by reference to the multiple of the patent licensing fee. For intentional infringement of the patent right, if the circumstances are serious, the amount of compensation may be determined not less than one time but not more than five times the amount determined in accordance with the above method.
If it is difficult to determine the loss of the obligee, the benefits obtained by the infringer and the patent licensing fee, the people's court may, according to the type of patent right, the nature and circumstances of the infringement, determine to pay compensation of not less than 30000 yuan but not more than 5 million yuan.
The amount of compensation shall also include the reasonable expenses paid by the obligee to stop the infringement.
In order to determine the amount of compensation, the people's court may order the infringer to provide the books and materials related to the infringement when the obligee has tried to provide evidence and the books and materials related to the infringement are mainly in the hands of the infringer; If the infringer fails to provide or provides false account books and materials, the people's court may determine the amount of compensation with reference to the claims of the obligee and the evidence provided.
Article 72 Where a patentee or an interested party has evidence to prove that another person is carrying out or is about to carry out an act that infringes upon the patent right or impedes the realization of his rights, and if he does not stop it in time, it will cause irreparable damage to his legitimate rights and interests, he may, in accordance with law, apply to the people's court for measures to preserve property, order him to do certain acts, or prohibit him from doing certain acts.
Article 73 In order to stop patent infringement, the patentee or interested party may, in accordance with the law, apply to the people's court for evidence preservation before instituting legal proceedings in cases where evidence may be lost or difficult to obtain later.
Article 74 The limitation of action for infringement of the patent right is three years, counting from the date on which the patentee or the interested party knew or should have known of the infringement and the infringer.
Where, after the publication of an application for a patent for invention and before the grant of the patent right, no appropriate fee has been paid for the use of the invention, the time limit for bringing an action for the patentee to demand the payment of the fee shall be three years, counting from the date on which the patentee knew or should have known that another person was using the invention, but if the patentee knew or should have known before the date of the grant of the patent right, counting from the date on which the patent right was granted.
Article 75 Under any of the following circumstances, the patent right shall not be deemed to have been infringed:
（1） Where a patented product or a product obtained directly by a patented method is used, promised to be sold, sold or imported by the patentee or by an entity or individual licensed by the patentee;
（2） Those who, before the date of patent application, have manufactured the same product, used the same method or made necessary preparations for manufacturing or using, and continue to manufacture or use only within the original scope;
（3） Where a foreign means of transport temporarily passes through China's territorial land, territorial waters or airspace, in accordance with an agreement concluded between the country to which it belongs and China or an international treaty to which both countries are parties, or in accordance with the principle of reciprocity, uses the relevant patent in its installations and equipment for its own needs;
（4） Using relevant patents exclusively for scientific research and experiment;
（5） Manufacturing, using or importing patented drugs or patented medical devices in order to provide the information needed for administrative examination and approval, or manufacturing or importing patented drugs or patented medical devices exclusively for them.
Article 76 In the process of drug marketing review and approval, if a dispute arises between the applicant for drug marketing license and the relevant patentee or interested party due to the patent right related to the drug for which registration is applied, the relevant party may file a lawsuit with the people's court to request a judgment on whether the technical solution related to the drug for which registration is applied falls within the protection scope of the drug patent right of others. The drug regulatory department under the State Council may, within the prescribed time limit, make a decision on whether to suspend the approval of the listing of related drugs according to the effective judgment of the people's court.
The applicant for drug marketing license and the relevant patentee or interested party may also apply to the patent administration department under the State Council for an administrative ruling on the patent dispute related to the drug for registration.
The pharmaceutical supervisory and administrative department under the State Council shall, together with the patent administration department under the State Council, formulate specific measures for the connection between the examination and approval of drug marketing license and the resolution of patent disputes at the stage of drug marketing license application, which shall be implemented after being submitted to the State Council for approval.
Article 77 Where, for the purposes of production and business operation, a person uses, promises to sell or sells a patent infringing product that he does not know was manufactured and sold without the permission of the patentee, and can prove the lawful source of the product, he shall not be liable for compensation.
Article 78 Where anyone, in violation of the provisions of Article 19 of this Law, applies for a patent in a foreign country and divulges State secrets, he shall be subject to administrative sanctions by the entity to which he belongs or by the competent authority at a higher level; If a crime is constituted, criminal responsibility shall be investigated according to law.
Article 79 The administrative department for patent work shall not participate in recommending patented products to the public or other business activities.
Where the department for the administration of patent work violates the provisions of the preceding paragraph, it shall be ordered by its superior organ or the supervisory organ to rectify and eliminate the effects, and its illegal income, if any, shall be confiscated; If the circumstances are serious, the persons directly in charge and other persons directly responsible shall be given sanctions according to law.
Article 80 Where any State functionary engaged in patent administration or any other State functionary concerned neglects his duty, abuses his power or engages in malpractices for personal gain, which constitutes a crime, he shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law; If the case does not constitute a crime, punishment shall be given according to law.

Chapter VIII Supplementary Provisions

Article 81 Where an application for a patent is filed with the patent administration department under the State Council and other formalities are gone through, a fee shall be paid in accordance with the relevant provisions.
Article 82 This Law shall go into effect as of April 1, 1985.