Article 18.  Where any foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization having no habitual residence or business office in China files an application for a patent in China, the application sha1l be treated under this Law in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which the applicant belongs and China, or in accordance with any international treaty to which both countries are party, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

Article l9.  Where any foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization having no habitual residence or business office in China applies for a patent, or has other patent matters to attend to, in China, it or he shall appoint a patent agency designated by  the patent administration department under the State Council  to act as his or its agent.
Where any Chinese entity or individual applies for a patent or has other patent matters to attend to in the country, it or he may appoint a patent agency to act as its or his agent.
The patent agency shall comply with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and handle patent applications and other patent matters according to the instructions of its clients. In respect of the contents of its clients' inventions-creations, except for those that have been published or announced, the agency shall bear the responsibility of keeping them confidential. The administrative regulations governing the patent agency shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 20.  Where any Chinese entity or individual intends to file an application in a foreign country for a patent for invention-creation made in China, it or he shall file first an application for patent with the patent administration department under the State Council, appoint a patent agency designated by the said department  to act as its or his agent, and comply with the provisions of Article 4 of this Law.
Any Chinese entity or individual may file an international application for patent in accordance with any international treaty concerned to which China is party. The applicant filing an international application for patent shall comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
The patent administration department under the State Council shall handle any international application for patent in accordance with the international treaty concerned to which China is party, this Law and the relevant regulations of the State Council.

Article 21. The patent administration department under the State Council and its Patent Reexamination Board shall handle any patent application and patent-related request according to law and in conformity with the requirements for being objective, fair, correct and timely.
Until the publication or announcement of the application for a patent, staff members of the patent administration department under the State Council and other persons involved have the duty to keep its contents secret.

Chapter II  Requirements for Grant of Patent Right

Article 22.  Any invention or utility model for which patent right may be granted must possess novelty, inventiveness and practical app1icability.
Novelty means that, before the date of filing, no identical invention or utility model has been publicly disclosed in publications in the country or abroad or has been publicly used or made known to the public by any other means in the country, nor has any other person filed previously with the Patent Administration Department Under the State Council  an application which described the identical invention or utility mode1 and was published after the said date of filing.
Inventiveness means that, as compared with the technology existing before the date of filing, the invention has prominent substantive features and represents a notable progress and that the utility model has substantive features and represents progress.
Practical applicability means that the invention or utility model can be made or used and can produce effective results.
  
Article 23.  Any design for which patent right may be granted must not be identical with and simi1ar to any design which, before the date of filing, has been publicly disclosed in publications in the country or abroad or has been publicly used in the country, and must not be in conflict with any prior right of any other person.

Article 24.  An invention-creation for which a patent is applied for does not lose its novelty where, within six months before the date of filing, one of the following events occurred:
(l) where it was first exhibited at an international exhibition sponsored or recognized by the Chinese Government;
(2) where it was first made public at a prescribed academic or technological meeting;
(3) where it was disc1osed by any person without the consent of the applicant.

Article 25  For any of the following, no patent right shall be granted:
(1) scientific discoveries;
(2) rules and methods for mental activities;
(3) methods for the diagnosis or for the treatment of diseases;
(4) animal and plant varieties;
(5) substances obtained by means of nuclear transformation.
For processes used in producing products referred to in items (4) of the preceding paragraph, patent right may be granted in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

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