Article 38. Where, after the applicant has made the observations
or amendments, the Patent Administration Department Under the State
Council finds that the application for a patent for invention is still not
in conformity with the provisions of this Law, the application shall be
rejected.
Article 39. Where it is found after examination as to substance that
there is no cause for rejection of the application for a patent for invention,
the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a
decision to grant the patent right for invention, issue the certificate of
patent for invention, and register and announce it. The patent right for
invention shall take effect as of the date of the announcement.
Article 40. Where it is found after preliminary examination that there
is no cause for rejection of the 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 the patent right for
design, issue the relevant patent certificate, and register and announce it. The
patent right for utility model or design shall take effect as of the date of the
announcement.
Article 41. The patent administration department under the State
Council shall set up a Patent Reexamination Board. Where an applicant for
patent is not satisfied with the decision of the said department
rejecting the application, the applicant may, within three months from the
date of receipt of the notification, request the Patent Reexamination Board to
make a reexamination. The Patent Reexamination Board shall, after reexamination,
make a decision and notify the applicant for patent.
Where the applicant for
patent is not satisfied with the decision of the Patent Reexamination
Board, it or he may, within three months from the date of receipt of the
notification, institute legal proceedings in the people's court.
Chapter V Duration, Cessation and Invalidation of Patent
Right
Article 42. The duration of patent right for inventions shall be twenty
years, the duration of patent right for utility models and patent right for
designs shall be ten years, counted from the date of filing.
Article 43. The patentee shall pay an annual fee beginning with the
year in which the patent right was granted.
Article 44. In any of the following cases, the patent right shall
cease before the expiration of its duration:
(1) where an annual fee is not
paid as prescribed;
(2) where the patentee abandons his or its patent right
by a written declaration.
Any cessation of the patent right shall be
registered and announced by the Patent Administration Department Under the State
Council .
Article 45. Where, starting from the date of the announcement of the
grant of the patent right by the patent administration department under the
State Council, any entity or individual considers that the grant of the said
patent right is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law, it
or he may request the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right
invalid.
Article 46. The Patent Reexamination Board shall examine the request for
invalidation of the patent right promptly, make a decision on it and
notify the person who made 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.
Where the patentee or the
person who made the request for invalidation is not satisfied with the decision
of the Patent Reexamination Board declaring the patent right invalid or
upholding the patent right, such party may, within three months from receipt of
the notification of the decision, institute legal proceedings in the people's
court. The people's court shall notify the person that is the opponent party of
that party in the invalidation procedure to appear as a third party in the legal
proceedings.
Article 47. Any patent right which has
been declared invalid shall be deemed to be non-existent from the
beginning.
The decision declaring the patent right invalid shall have no
retroactive effect on any judgement or ruling of patent infringement which has
been pronounced and enforced by the people's court, on any decision concerning
the handling of a dispute over patent infringement which has been complied with
or compulsorily executed, or on any contract of patent license or of
assignment of patent right which has been performed prior to the
declaration of the patent right invalid; however, the damage caused to other
persons in bad faith on the part of the patentee shall be compensated.
If,
pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the patentee or the
assignor of the patent right makes no repayment to the licensee or the assignee
of the patent right of the fee for the exploitation of the patent or of the
price for the assignment of the patent right, which is obviously contrary to the
principle of equity, the patentee or the assignor of the patent right shall
repay the whole or part of the fee for the exploitation of the patent or of the
price for the assignment of the patent right to the licensee or the assignee of
the patent right.
Chapter VI Compulsory License for Exploitation of Patent
Article 48. Where any entity which is qualified to exploit the
invention or utility model has made requests for authorization from the patentee
of an invention or utility model to exploit its or his patent on reasonable
terms and conditions and such efforts have not been successful within a
reasonable period of time, the Patent Administration Department Under the State
Council may, upon the request of that entity, grant a compulsory
license to exploit the patent for invention or utility model.
Article 49. Where a national emergency or any extraordinary state
of affairs occurs, or where the public interest so requires, the Patent
Administration Department Under the State Council may grant a compulsory
license to exploit the patent for invention or utility model.
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