Chapter IX Fees

　　Article 90 When any person files an application for a patent with, or goes through other formalities at, the patent administration department under the State Council, he or it shall pay the following fees:

　　（1） filing fee, additional fee for patent application, and printing fee for publicizing the application;

　　（2） substantive¹ examination fee for an application for patent for invention, and reexamination fee;

　　（3） registration² fee for the grant of patent right, printing fee for the announcement of grant of patent right, maintenance fee for application, and annual fee;

　　（4） fee for a change in the bibliographic³ data, fee for claiming priority, fee for requesting restoration of rights, fee for requesting extension of a time limit, and fee for establishing a search report on a utility model patent;

　　（5） fee for requesting invalidation, fee for requesting suspension of the patent procedure, fee for requesting a compulsory⁵ license⁶, fee for requesting adjudication on exploitation fee of a compulsory license.

　　The amount of the fees referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the price administration department under the State Council in conjunction with the patent administration department under the State Council.

　　Article 91 The fees provided for in the Patent Law and in these Rules may be paid directly to the patent administration department under the State Council or paid by way of bank or postal⁷ remittance⁸, or by way of any other means as prescribed by the patent administration department under the State Council.

　　Where any fee is paid by way of bank or postal remittance, the applicant⁹ or the patentee shall indicate on the money order at least the correct filing number or the patent number and the name of the fee paid. If the requirements as prescribed in this paragraph are not complied with, the payment of the fee shall be deemed not to have been made.

　　Where any fee is paid directly to the patent administration department under the State Council, the date on which the fee is paid shall be the date of payment; where any fee is paid by way of postal remittance, the date of remittance indicated by the postmark shall be the date of payment; where any fee is paid by way of bank transfer, the date on which the transfer of the fee is done shall be the date of payment. Where the time between such a date and the date of receipt of the order by the patent administration department under the State Council lasts more than fifteen days, unless the date of remittance or transfer is proved by the bank or the post office, the date of receipt by the patent administration department under the State Council shall be the date of payment.

　　Where any patent fee is paid in excess of the amount as prescribed, paid repeatedly or wrongly, the party concerned may, within one year from the date of payment, request a refund¹⁰ from the patent administration department under the State Council.

　　Article 92 The applicant shall, after receipt of the notification of acceptance of the application from the patent administration department under the State Council, pay the filing fee, the printing fee for publicizing the application and the necessary additional fees at the latest within two months from the filing date. If the fees are not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn¹¹.

　　Where the applicant claims priority, he or it shall pay the fee for claiming priority at the same time with the payment of the filing fee. If the fee is not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, the claim for the priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

　　Article 93 Where the party concerned makes a request for an examination as to substance, a restoration of right or a reexamination, the relevant fee shall be paid within the time limit as prescribed respectively for such requests by the Patent Law. If the fee is not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, the request is deemed not to have been made.

　　Article 94 Where the applicant for a patent for invention has not been granted a patent right within two years from the date of filing, it or he shall pay a fee for the maintenance of the application from the third year.

　　Article 95 When the applicant goes through the formalities of registration of the grant of patent right, it or he shall pay a registration fee for the grant of patent right, printing fee for the announcement of grant of patent right and the annual fee of the year in which the patent right is granted. The applicant for a patent for invention shall, in the lump, pay the application maintenance fee for all the years, not including the year in which the patent right is granted. If such fees are not paid within the prescribed time limit, the registration of the grant of patent right shall be deemed not to have been made. The subsequent annual fees shall be paid in advance within the month before the expiration¹² of the preceding year.

　　Article 96 Where the annual fee of the patent right after the year in which the patent is granted is not paid in due time by the patentee, or the fee is not paid in full, the patent administration department under the State Council shall notify the patentee to pay the fee or to make up the insufficiency within six months from the expiration of the time limit within which the annual fee is due to be paid, and at the same time pay a surcharge. The amount of the surcharge shall be, for each month of late payment, 5% of the whole amount of the annual fee of the year within which the annual fee is due to be paid. Where the fee and the surcharge are not paid within the time limit, the patent right shall lapse¹³ from the expiration of the time limit within which the annual fee should be paid.

　　Article 97 The fee for a change in the bibliographic data, fee for establishing a search report on a utility model patent, fee for requesting suspension of the patent procedure, fee for requesting a compulsory license, fee for requesting adjudication on exploitation fee of a compulsory license and fee for requesting invalidation shall be paid as prescribed within one month from the date on which such request is filed. The fee for requesting extension of a time limit shall be paid before the expiration of the said time limit. If the fee is not paid or not paid in full within the time limit, the request shall be deemed not to have been made.

　　Article 98 Where any applicant or patentee has difficulties in paying the various fees prescribed in these Rules, he may, in accordance with the prescriptions¹⁴, submit a request to the patent administration department under the State Council, for a reduction or postponement¹⁵ of the payment. Measures for the reduction and postponement of the payment shall be prescribed by the patent administration department under the State Council in consultation¹⁶ with the finance administration department and the price administration department under the State Council.

　　Chapter X Special Provisions Concerning International Application

　　Article 99 The patent administration department under the State Council receives international patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of the Patent Law.

　　Where any international application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty designating China enters the Chinese national phase （hereinafter referred to as the international application）, the requirements and procedures prescribed in this Chapter shall apply. Where no provisions are made in this Chapter, the relevant provisions in the Patent Law and in any other chapters of these Rules shall apply.

　　Article 100 Any international application which has been accorded an international filing date and which has designated China shall, in accordance with the Patent Cooperation Treaty, be deemed as an application for patent filed with the patent administration department under the State Council, and the said filing date shall be deemed as the filing date referred to in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

　　Where, in the international phase, an international application or its designation of China is withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn, the effect of the said international application in China shall cease.

　　Article 101 Any applicant for an international application entering the Chinese national phase shall, within 30 months from the priority date as referred to in Article 2 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty （referred to in this chapter as "the priority date"）, go through the following formalities with the patent administration department under the State Council:

　　（1） submitting a written statement concerning the entry of his or its international application into the Chinese national phase. The statement shall indicate the international application number, and also indicate in Chinese the kind of patent protection sought, the title of the invention-creation, the name or title of the applicant, the address of the applicant and the name of the inventor. Such indications shall be the same as those recorded by the International Bureau;

　　（2） paying the filing fee, the additional fee for patent application and the printing fee for publicizing the application as provided in Article 90, paragraph one of these Rules;

　　（3） where an international application is filed in a language other than Chinese, the Chinese translation of the description, the claims, the text matter of the drawings, and the abstract of the initial international application shall be furnished; where an international application is filed in Chinese, a copy of the abstract published in the international publication shall be furnished;

　　（4） where an international application contains drawings, a copy of the drawings shall be furnished. Where an international application is filed in Chinese, a copy of the figure of the drawings in the abstract as published in the international publication shall be furnished.

　　If the applicant fails to go through the relevant formalities for entering the Chinese national phase within the time limit prescribed in the preceding paragraph, he or it may, after paying a surcharge for the late entry, go through these formalities before the expiration of the time limit of 32 months from the priority date.

　　Article 102 Where the applicant fails to go through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, within the time limit prescribed in Article 101, paragraph two of these Rules or any of the following circumstance occurs at the expiration of the said time limit, the effect of his or its international application shall cease in China:

　　（1） where the international application number is not indicated in the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase;

　　（2） where the filing fee, the printing fee for publicizing the application prescribed in Article 90, paragraph one of these Rules, or the surcharge for the late entry as prescribed in Article 101, paragraph two of these Rules is not paid;

　　（3） where the international application is filed in a language other than Chinese, the Chinese translation of the description and the claims of the initial international application are not furnished.

　　Where the effect of an international application has ceased in China, the provisions of Article 7, paragraph two of these Rules shall not apply.

　　Article 103 Where any of the following circumstance occurs at the time when the applicant goes through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, the patent administration department under the State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within the specified¹⁷ time limit:

　　（1） where the Chinese translation of the abstract or a copy of the abstract is not furnished;

　　（2） where a copy of the drawings or a copy of a figure of the drawings in the abstract is not furnished;

　　（3） where the title of the invention-creation, the name or title of the applicant, the address of the applicant and the name of the inventor are not indicated in Chinese in the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase;

　　（4） where the content or the form of the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase is not in conformity¹⁸ with the provisions.

　　If, at the expiration of the time limit, the applicant fails to make up the corrections, his or its application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

　　Article 104 Where an international application is amended²⁰ in the international phase and the applicant requests that the examination be based on the amended application, the Chinese translation of the amendments²¹ shall be furnished by the applicant before completion of the technical preparations for national publication of the application by the patent administration department under the State Council. Where the Chinese translation is not furnished within the time limit, the amendments made in the international phase shall not be taken into consideration by the patent administration department under the State Council.

　　Article 105 When the applicant goes through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, he or it shall also fulfill²² the following requirements:

　　（1） where the inventor is not indicated in the international application, the name of the inventor shall be indicated in the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase;

　　（2） where any change in the applicant is made before the International Bureau in the international phase, the document certifying²³ the right of the new applicant to the international application shall be furnished;

　　（3） where the applicant is not the same person as the applicant having filed the earlier application which is the basis of the priority claimed, or where the applicant has changed his or its name after filing the earlier application, the document certifying the right of the applicant to claim priority shall be furnished when necessary;

　　（4） Where any invention-creation to which the international application relates has one of the events referred to in Article 24, subparagraph （1） or （2） of the Patent Law and where statements have been made in this respect when the international application was filed, the applicant shall indicate it in the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase, and furnish the relevant certificates prescribed in Article 31, paragraph two of these Rules within two months from the date of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase.

　　Where the applicant fails to satisfy the requirements provided for in subparagraph （1）, （2） or （3） of the preceding paragraph, the patent administration department under the State Council shall notify the applicant to make corrections within the specified time limit. Where, within the time limit, no correction is made in respect of the requirement provided for in subparagraph （1） or （2）, the application shall be deemed to be withdrawn; Where, within the time limit, no correction is made in respect of the requirement provided for in subparagraph （3）, the claim for priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

　　Where the applicant fails to fulfill the requirement provided for in subparagraph （4） of paragraph one of this Article, the provisions of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to his or its international application.

　　Article 106 Where the applicant has made indications concerning deposited biological materials in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, the requirements provided for in Article 25, subparagraph （3） of these Rules shall be deemed to have been fulfilled. In the statement concerning entry into the Chinese national phase, the applicant shall indicate the documents recording²⁴ the particulars of the deposit of the biological materials, and the exact location of the record in the documents.

　　Where particulars concerning the deposit of biological materials are contained in the description of the international application as initially²⁵ filed, but there is no such indication in the statement concerning the entry into the Chinese national phase, the applicant shall make correction within four months from the date of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase. If the correction is not made at the expiration of the time limit, the biological materials shall be deemed not to have been deposited.

　　Where the applicant submits the certificates of the deposit and the viability²⁶ of the biological materials to the patent administration department under the State Council within four months from the date of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, the deposit of biological materials shall be deemed to have been made within the time limit as provided for in Article 25, subparagraph （1） of these Rules.

　　Article 107 Where the applicant claims one or multiple priorities in the international phase and such claims remain valid⁴ at the time when the application enters the Chinese national phase, the applicant shall be deemed to have submitted the written declaration in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law.

　　Where there are clerical mistakes or the application number of the earlier application is missing in the written declaration claiming the priority made in the international phase, the applicant may request to make corrections or to fill in the missing application number of the earlier application at the time of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase. Where a request for making corrections is made, the applicant shall pay the fee for correcting the claim for priority.

　　Where the applicant has submitted a copy of the earlier application in the international phase in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty, he or it shall be exempted²⁷ form submitting a copy of the earlier application to the patent administration department under the State Council at the time of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase. Where the applicant has not submitted a copy of the earlier application in the international phase, and if the patent administration department under the State Council deems it necessary, it may notify the applicant to submit a copy of the earlier application within the specified time limit. If no copy is submitted at the expiration of the time limit, his or its claim for the priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

　　Where the claim for the priority is deemed not to have been made in the international phase and the information is already published by the International Bureau, the applicant may, if he has justified²⁸ reasons, request the patent administration department under the State Council to restore his or its claim for the priority at the time of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase.

　　Article 108 Where, before the expiration of 30 months from the priority date, the applicant files a request with the patent administration department under the State Council for early processing and examination of his or its international application, he or it shall, in addition to going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, submit a request in accordance with the provisions in Article 23, paragraph two of the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Where the international application has not been transmitted by the International Bureau to the patent administration department under the State Council, the applicant shall submit a confirmed copy of the international application.

　　Article 109 With regard to an international application for a patent for utility model, the applicant may file a request with the patent administration department under the State Council to amend¹⁹ the description, the drawings and the claims within one month from the date of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase.

　　With regard to an international application for a patent for invention, the provisions of Article 51, paragraph one of these Rules shall apply.

　　Article 110 Where the applicant finds that there are mistakes in the Chinese translation of the description, the claims or the words of the drawings submitted, he or it may correct the translation in accordance with the initial international application as filed within the following time limits:

　　（1） before the completion of technical preparations of the patent administration department under the State Council for national publication;

　　（2） within three months from the date of receipt of the notification sent by the patent administration department under the State Council notifying that the application for a patent for invention has entered into the substantive examination phase.

　　Where the applicant intends to correct the mistakes in the translation, he shall file a written request, furnish a replace sheet of the translation and pay the prescribed fee for correction of the translation.

　　Where the applicant makes correction of the translation in accordance with the notification of the patent administration department under the State Council, he or it shall, within the specified time limit, go through the formalities prescribed in paragraph two of this Article. If the prescribed formalities are not gone through at the expiration of the time limit, the international application shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

　　Article 111 With regard to any international application for a patent for invention, if the patent administration department under the State Council, after preliminary examination, considers it is in compliance²⁹ with the provisions of the Patent Law and these Rules, it shall publish it in the Patent Gazette; where the international application is filed in a language other than Chinese, the Chinese translation of the international application shall be published.

　　Where the international publication of an international application for a patent for invention by the International Bureau is in Chinese, the provisions of Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply from the date of the international publication. If the international publication by the International Bureau is in a language other than Chinese, the provisions of Article 13 of the Patent Law shall apply from the date of the publication of the Chinese translation by the patent administration department under the State Council.

　　With regard to an international application, the publication referred to in Articles 21 and 22 of the Patent Law means the publication referred to in paragraph one of this Article.

　　Article 112 Where two or more inventions or utility models are contained in an international application, the applicant may, after going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, submit a divisional application in accordance with the provisions in Article 42, paragraph one of these Rules.

　　Where, in the international phase, some parts of the international application are not the subject of international search or international preliminary examination because the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examination Authority considers that the international application does not comply with the requirement of unity³⁰ of invention prescribed in the Patent Cooperation Treaty, or because the applicant fails to pay the additional fee, and at the time of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, the applicant requests that the said parts be the basis of examination, the patent administration department under the State Council, finding that the decision concerning unity of invention made by the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examination Authority is justified, shall notify the applicant to pay the restoration fee for unity of invention within the specified time limit. Where the fee is not paid or not paid in full at the expiration of the prescribed time limit, those parts of the international application which have not been searched or have not been the subject of international preliminary examination shall be deemed to be withdrawn.

　　Article 113 Where the applicant furnishes the documents and pays the fees in accordance with the provisions of Article 101 of these Rules, the date on which the patent administration department under the State Council receives the documents shall be the date of submitting, and the date on which it receives the fees shall be the date of payment.

　　Where there is delay in the mailing of the documents and the applicant proves, within one month from the date on which he finds the delay, that the documents have been mailed five days prior to the expiration of the time limit prescribed in Article 101 of these Rules, the documents shall be deemed to have been received on the date on which the time limit expires. However, the time period for the applicant to furnish evidence may not be later than six months after the expiration of the time limit prescribed in Article 101 of these Rules.

　　Where documents are to be submitted to the patent administration department under the State Council in accordance with the provisions of Article 101 of these Rules, the applicant may send them by fax. Where the applicant submits the documents by fax, the date on which the patent administration department under the State Council receives the fax shall be the date of submitting. The applicant shall submit to the patent administration department under the State Council the original copy within 14 days from the date of the transmission by fax. Where the original copy is not submitted within the time limit, the documents shall be deemed not to have been submitted.

　　Article 114 Where an international application claims the priority, the applicant shall, at the time of going through the formalities for entering the Chinese national phase, pay the fee for claiming the priority; if the fee is not paid or not paid in full, the patent administration department under the State Council shall notify the applicant to pay it within the specified time limit; if the fee is still not paid or not paid in full at the expiration of the time limit, the claim for priority shall be deemed not to have been made.

　　Article 115 Where an international application in the international phase has been refused to be accorded an international filing date or has been declared to be deemed withdrawn by an international authority concerned, the applicant may, within two months from the date on which he or it receives the notification, request the International Bureau to send the copy of any document in the file of the international application to the patent administration department under the State Council, and shall go through the formalities prescribed in Article 101 of these Rules within the said time limit with the patent administration department under the State Council. After receiving the documents sent by the International Bureau, the patent administration department under the State Council shall review the decision made by the international authority concerned to find whether it is correct.

　　Article 116 With regard to a patent right granted on the basis of an international application, if the scope of protection determined³¹ in accordance with the provisions of Article 56 of the Patent Law exceeds the scope of the international application in its original language because of incorrect translation, the scope of protection granted on the international application shall be limited according to the original language of the application; if the scope of protection granted on the international application is narrower than the scope of the application in its original language, the scope of protection shall be determined according to the patent in the language when it is granted.

　　Chapter X Supplementary³² Provisions

　　Article 117 Any person may, after approval by the patent administration department under the State Council, consult or copy the files of the publicized or announced patent applications and the Patent Register, and may request the patent administration department under the State Council to issue a copy of extracts from the Patent Register.

　　The files of the patent applications which have been withdrawn or deemed to be withdrawn or which have been rejected, shall not be preserved after expiration of two years from the date on which the applications cease to be valid.

　　Where the patent right has been abandoned, wholly invalidated or ceased, the files shall not be preserved after expiration of three years from the date on which the patent right ceases to be valid.

　　Article 118 Any patent application which is filed with, or any formality which is gone through at, the patent administration department under the State Council, shall be in the prescribed form of the patent administration department under the State Council, and signed or sealed by the applicant, the patentee, any other interested person or his or its representative. Where any patent agency is appointed, it shall be sealed by such agency.

　　Where a change in the name of the inventor, or in the name, nationality and address of the applicant or the patentee, or in the name or address of the patent agency or the name of patent agent is requested, a request for a change in the bibliographic data shall be made to the patent administration department under the State Council, together with the relevant certifying documents.

　　Article 119 The document relating to a patent application or patent right which is mailed to the patent administration department under the State Council shall be mailed by registered letter, not by parcel.

　　Except for any patent application filed for the first time, any document which is submitted to and any formality which is gone through with the patent administration department under the State Council, the filing number or the patent number, the title of the invention-creation and the name of the applicant or the patentee shall be indicated.

　　Only documents relating to the same application shall be included in one letter.

　　Article 120 Various kinds of application documents shall be typed or printed. All the characters shall be in black ink, neat and clear. They shall be free from any alterations³³. The drawings shall be made in black ink with the aid of drafting instruments. The lines shall be uniformly thick and well defined, and free from alterations.

　　The request, description, claims, drawings and abstract shall be numbered separately in Arabic numerals and arranged in numerical order.

　　The written language of the application shall run from left to right. Only one side of each sheet shall be used.

　　Article 121 The patent administration department under the State Council shall formulate³⁴ Guidelines for Examination in accordance with the Patent Law and these Rules.

　　Article 122 These Rules shall be effective as of July 1, 2001. The Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China approved by the State Council on December 12, 1992 and promulgated by the Patent Office of the People's Republic of China on December 21, 1992 shall be repealed simultaneously

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