6-8 months
IMPI conducts formal and substantive examinations of invention patent applications. The substantive examination starts automatically, and there is no need for the applicant to submit a separate request for substantive examination. No special requirements or fees. Expedited examination can be requested through the Patent Prosecution Highway. The time limit for responding to the Office Action Notice is 2 months from the date of issue, which can be extended once (2 months).
no
yes. As long as the application is not abandoned, the patent type can be converted from invention to utility model within 3 months of filing the invention patent application, or within 3 months from the date when IMPI requires the applicant to make the conversion, after paying the relevant fees.
15 years
20 years
1-2 years
6-8 months
A 12-month novelty grace period applies if the inventor or his successor has communicated in any form, put the design into practice or made it public at national and international exhibitions.
yes
- via Paris Convention : 12 months from earliest priority date.
- via Nationalization of PCT : 30 months from the earliest priority date.