Article 3l The academic or technological meeting referred to in Article 24,
subparagraph (2) of the Patent Law means any academic or technological meeting
organized by a competent department concerned of the State Council or by a
national academic or technological association.
Where any invention-creation
for which a patent is applied falls under the provisions of Article 24,
subparagraph (l) or (2) of the Patent Law, the applicant shall, when filing the
application, make a declaration and, within a time limit of two months from the
date of filing, submit certifying documents issued by the entity which organized
the international exhibition or academic or technological meeting, stating the
fact that the invention-creation was exhibited or published and with the date of
its exhibition or publication.
Where any invention-creation for which a
patent is applied falls under the provisions of Article 24, subparagraph (3) of
the Patent Law, the Patent Administration Department under the State Council
may, when it deems necessary, require the applicant to submit the relevant
certifying documents within the specified time limit.
Where the applicant
fails to make a declaration and submit certifying documents as required in
paragraph two of this Rule, or fails to submit certifying documents within the
specified time limit as required in paragraph three of this Rule, the provisions
of Article 24 of the Patent Law shall not apply to the application.
Article 32 Where any applicant goes through the formalities of claims
priority in accordance with the provisions of Article 30 of the Patent Law, he
or it shall, in his or its written declaration, indicate the date and the number
of the application which was first filed (hereinafter referred to as the earlier
application) and the country in which the application was filed. If the written
declaration does not contain the filing date of the earlier application and the
name of the country in which the application was filed, the declaration shall be
deemed not to have been made.
Where the foreign priority is claimed, the copy
of the earlier application documents submitted by the applicant shall be
certified by the competent authority of the foreign country in which the
application was filed. Where in the certifying material submitted, the name of
the earlier applicant is not the same as that of the later one, the applicant
shall submit document certifying the assignment of priority. Where the domestic
priority is claimed, the copy of the earlier application document shall be
prepared by the Patent Administration Department under the State Council.
Article 33 An applicant may claim one or more priorities for an application
for a patent; where multiple priorities are claimed, the priority period for the
application shall be calculated from the earliest priority date.
Where an
applicant claims the right of domestic priority, if the earlier application is
one for a patent for invention, he or it may file an application for a patent
for invention or utility model for the same subject matter; if the earlier
application is one for a patent for utility model, he or it may file an
application for a patent for utility model or invention for the same subject
matter. However, when the later application is filed, if the subject matter of
the earlier application falls under any of the following, it may not be taken as
the basis for claiming domestic priority:
(1) where the applicant has claimed
foreign or domestic priority;
(2) where it has been granted a patent
right;
(3) where it is the subject matter of a divisional application filed
as prescribed.
Where the domestic priority is claimed, the earlier
application shall be deemed to be withdrawn from the date on which the later
application is filed.
Article 34 Where an application for a patent is filed or the right of foreign
priority is claimed by an applicant having no habitual residence or business
office in China, the Patent Administration Department under the State Council
may, when it deems necessary, require the applicant to submit the following
documents:
(1) a certificate concerning the nationality of the
applicant;
(2) a document certifying the seat of the business office or the
headquarters, if the applicant is an enterprise or other organization;
(3) a
document certifying that the country, to which the foreigner, foreign enterprise
or other foreign organization belongs, recognizes that Chinese entities and
individuals are, under the same conditions as those applied to its nationals,
entitled to the patent right, the right of priority and other related rights in
that country.
Article 35 Two or more inventions or utility models belonging to a single
general inventive concept which may be filed as one application in accordance
with the provision of Article 3l, paragraph one of the Patent Law shall be
technically inter-related and contain one or more of the same or corresponding
special technical features. The expression "special technical features" shall
mean those technical features that define a contribution which each of those
inventions or utility models, considered as a whole, makes over the prior
art.
Article 36 The expression "the same class" referred to in Article 3l,
paragraph two of the Patent Law means that the product incorporating the designs
belongs to the same subclass in the classification of products for designs. The
expression "be sold or used in sets" means that the products incorporating the
designs have the same designing concept and are customarily sold and used at the
same time.
Where two or more designs are filed as one application in
accordance with the provision of Article 3l, paragraph two of the Patent Law,
they shall be numbered consecutively and the numbers shall precede the titles of
the view of the product incorporating the design.
Rule 37 When withdrawing an application for a patent, the applicant
shall submit to the Patent Administration Department under the State Council a
declaration to that effect stating the title of the invention-creation, the
filing number and the date of filing.
Where a declaration to withdraw an
application for a patent is submitted after the preparations for the publication
of the application document has been completed by the Patent Administration
Department under the State Council, the application document shall be published
as scheduled. However, the declaration withdrawing the application for patent
shall be published in the next issue of the Patent Gazette.
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