Chapter 1 General Principles
Article 1
With a view to
guaranteeing the legitimate rights of patent agencies and consignors
and ensuring the normal working of patent commissioning
services, these Regulations hereof are formulated.
Article
2
Patent commissioning stated here denotes
patent application or the handling of other patent-
related affairs by patent agencies on behalf of their consignors and
within their authorized powers.
Chapter 2 Patent Agencies
Article 3
Patent agencies
stated here denote service organs that apply for patents or
handle other patent-related affairs on
behalf of their consignors and within their authorized
powers.
Patent agencies
include:
(1) those that handle foreign
patent-related affairs;
(2) those that handle
domestic patent-related affairs; and
(3) law
firms that handle domestic patent-related affairs.
Article
4
Establishment of a
patent agency shall require the following
conditions:
(1) having a name, articles of
association and fixed work place of its own;
(2) having necessary capital and work
installations;
(3) being financially
independent and able to meet civil liabilities independently;
and
(4) employing three or more special staff
members qualified as patent agents and a proportionate number of likewise
qualified spare-time working staff as stipulated by the China
Administration of Patents (CAP).
Law firms
engaged in patent commissioning must have special staff for the business
stated in item (4) of the previous paragraph.
Article
5
To apply for the establishment
of a patent agency at a patent administration, the
following documents must be presented:
(1) a letter of application with
the name, office space and responsible person's name
stated;
(2) the articles of association of the
patent agency;
(3) the
names of patent agents and their
certificates of qualification; and
(4) written
proof of the amount of capital and installations of the patent of the
agency.
Article 6
Patent
agencies applying for the handling of domestic patent-related affairs or
law firms applying for the same must have the consent of their governing
authorities and their applications must be examined by patent
administrations of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities
directly under the Central Government; in the absence of governing
authorities, they may be directly examined by the later. Upon
agreement, the examining authorities shall report
the applications to CAP for
approval.
Patent agencies applying to handle
foreign-related patent affairs must go through
procedures as stipulated in the Patent Law of the People's Republic of
China. Such agencies, upon approval by CAP, can handle
domestic patent affairs.
Article 7
Patent agencies, as of the date of approval, can start
handling patent-commissioning business in accordance with law, enjoy
civil rights and meet civil liabilities.
Article
8
Patent agencies shall deal with the
following businesses:
(1) providing
patent-related consulting agencies;
(2)
writing on commission patent application documents and handling
re-examination and other related affairs;
(3)
raising disagreement, asking for the announcement of a patent right
cancellation and other related affairs;
(4) handling the right of patent application, the transfer of patent
right and patent permission and other related
affairs;
(5) appointing patent
agents to serve as patent advisors upon
invitation; and
(6) other related
matters.
Article 9
When patent agencies
accept consignments and handle business, they shall have a
consignor's letter of commitment clearly stating commissioned
items
and powers.
If needed, a patent agency
may designate a certain patent agent appointed by the
consignor to handle the business.
Patent
agencies may charge commissions in accordance with relevant regulations of
t he State.
Article 10
After
accepting a commission, a patent agency shall not accept the commission of
rival consignors concerning patents with the same
content.
Article 11
Patent agencies
shall employ as patent agents persons with "Patent Agent
Qualification Certificate". The latter shall go through necessary
procedures, be given "Patent Agent Work
Permit" by the former, and register at
CAP.
Beginners shall not be issued "Patent
Agent Work Permit" until after a full year of
apprenticeship.
When patent agencies discharge
their patent agents, they shall recover in time the latter's "Patent Agent
Working Permit" and report such discharge to CAP.
Article
12
When patent agencies change their
names, addresses and responsible persons, they shall
report to CAP of such changes, which become effective
only after
approval by the latter.
When
a patent agency goes out of business, it shall, after
appropriately handling all unsettled affairs, report to the
authorities that endorsed its opening and the latter shall be
responsible for going through all necessary procedures as
CAP.
Article 13
If an approved patent
agency no longer meets the conditions stated in Article 4 of these
Regulations hereof due to a change of circumstances and will not be able
to meet such conditions within 1 year, the authorities that endorsed its
opening should propose to CAP that it be canceled as a patent agency.
Chapter 3 Patent Agents
Article 14
Patent agents
that these Regulations hereof stated denote bearers of "Patent Agent
Qualification Certificate" and of "Patent Agent Working
Permit".
Article 15
Chinese citizens
who support Constitution as the People's Republic of China and meet the
following conditions may apply to be pate nt
agents:
(1) over the age of 18 with full
capacity for civil behaviors;
(2) graduates of
college departments of sciences (or with equivalent education) in
command of one foreign language;
(3)
well-versed in the Patent Law and related legal knowledge;
and
(4) scientists or lawyers with upwards of
2 years of work experience.
Article 16
Persons who apply to be patent agents will obtain CAP "Patent Agent
Qualification Certificate" after a panel of examination judges deem him or
her qualified.
The panel of judges is composed
of persons from CAP, State Council department and
organizations of patent agents.
Article
17
Patent agents shall
handle only patent commissioning services assigned by
their patent agencies and shall not accept such services on their
own.
Article 18
Patent agents shall
handle patent commissioning services in two or more patent agencies
simultaneously.
Before quitting their jobs at
patent agencies, patent agents must appropriately
conclude unsettled commissioned cases.
Article
19
In case bearers of "Patent Agent
Qualification Certificate" fail to engage in patent commissioning
business or patent-related management for 5 years, their "Patent Agent
Qualification Certificates" are automatically rendered
ineffective.
Article 20
Patent agents in the course of doing their
professional work or within 1 year of their
quitting their profession must not
apply for
patents.
Article 21
Patent agents lawfully handling patent commissions shall be protected by
State laws and their work shall not be interfered with by any unit
or individual.
Article 22
State organ
staff are forbidden to work at patent agencies and engage in patent
commissioning service in their spare-time.
Article
23
Patent agents have the responsibility to
keep the inventions they get to know in the course of their
rendering commission services unless relevant patent
application have been made public.
Chapter 4 Punishment
Article 24
For
one of the following offenses, the governing
authorities or patent administrations of the provinces,
autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government
may serve a warning to the offending patent agency; in cases
of serious offense, CAP may punish it by ordering its
close:
(1) concealing facts in
application;
(2) changing major registration
items by itself;
(3) accepting and
handling patent commission services unauthorizedly or beyond the
approved business scope; and
(4) other illegal
activities.
Article 25
For one
of the following offenses on the part of patent agents,
relevant patent agencies may criticize the offenders if the cases are
not serious; in cases of serious offenses, patent agencies may
discharge the offenders and revoke their "Patent Agent Work Permit";
relevant patent administrations of the provinces, autonomous
regions or municipalities dire ctly under the Central
Government may serve each offender a warning or CAP may revoke hi s
or her "Patent Agent Qualification
Certificate":
(1) failing to fulfill his or
her duties to the detriment of the interests of the
consignors;
(2) disclosing or stealing
inventions of the consignors;
(3) going beyond
the powers of commission and causing damages to the interests of the
consignors; and
(4) charging
through accepting and handling patent commission
services without permission.
If the
commissaries' economic losses has been caused by the behaviors as stated
in the previous paragraph, relevant patent
agencies, after making economic compensations, may charge the patent agent
in question according to a given proportion.
Article
26
If a patent agency ordered to close down as
a punishment by CAP and a patent agent whose "Patent
Agent Qualification Certificate" has been revoked
do not agree with the decisions of punishment, they may appeal to
CAP for re-examination; if they still fail to be satisfied
with the CAP decision, they may bring the case to a people's
court within 15 days of the receipt of the CAP
decision.
Chapter 5 Supplementary Articles
Article 27
The right to
interpret these Regulations hereof
rests with CAP.
Article 28
These Regulations hereof become effective as of April 1,
1991. The Temporary Regulations on Patent
Commissioning endorsed by the State Council on
September 4, 1985 and promulgated by CAP on September 12 of the same year
is simultaneously canceled.
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