Starting dates for patent substantive examination in different countries
For invention patents in most countries, it is impossible to obtain a patent certificate without going through the substantive examination process. This is the consensus of most people. For example, our Chinese applicants can submit a substantive examination request no later than 3 years from the priority date/Chinese application date. After a long waiting time for proposals, they will receive the first examination opinion notice issued by the examiner. However, for other countries around the world, the starting date for substantive examination requests is not necessarily the priority date or the filing date. For example, in Germany, the filing time for substantive examination is 7 years from the filing date; for example, in Thailand, the filing time for substantive examination is the first public disclosure. 5 years from the date of filing, not even one day earlier; for another example, in the United States, there is no need for the applicant to submit a separate request for substantive examination. The USPTO’s philosophy is that you want to obtain a patent certificate anyway, so you might as well automatically conduct the substantive examination. .
Each system has its own merits, and as a patent applicant, you can only adapt to the requirements of each country. Today, we will take stock of the request time for substantive examination in 30 countries.
