Since 2016, China has implemented a policy of reduction and exemption in favor of Chinese patent applicants, aiming to better support the development of China's patents and reduce the burden on Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises and individuals to maintain patents.
Q: What is patent fee reduction?
- A: Patent fee reduction is a preferential policy of the state to promote scientific and technological development, support scientific and technological innovation, and reduce the burden on enterprises and individuals. Applicants or patent owners who meet the conditions of the "Patent Fee Reduction Measures" can submit materials to the State Intellectual Property Office to apply for a reduction in patent fees.
Q: Which patent fees can be reduced?
- A: 1) Application fee (excluding publication printing fee and application surcharge)
- 2) Fees for substantive examination of invention patent applications
- 3) Annual fees within ten years from the year the patent is granted
- 4) Reexamination Fees Please note that the request for fee reduction is made at the same time as the application for the patent, and the above fees can be reduced at the same time. After the application for the patent is filed, only the fees that have not yet expired, except for the application fee, can be reduced. The request should be made at least two and a half months before the expiration of the relevant fee payment deadline and the fee reduction approval notice should be received.
Q: What is the reduction ratio?
- A: If the patent applicant or patent owner is an individual or an organization, the reduction rate is 85%.
- If two or more individuals or organizations are joint patent applicants or joint patent owners, the reduction rate is 70%.
Q: Which patent applicants or patent owners can apply for patent fee reduction?
- A: Patent applicants or patent holders who meet any of the following conditions may request fee reduction:
- 1) Individuals whose average monthly income in the previous year was less than RMB 5,000 (RMB 60,000 per year);
- 2) Enterprises whose taxable income in the previous year was less than RMB 1 million;
- 3) Public institutions, social groups, and non-profit scientific research institutions.
- 4) If two or more individuals or units are joint patent applicants or joint patent owners, they shall comply with the provisions of the first or second item above respectively.
Q: How should eligible patent applicants or patent owners apply for patent fee reduction?
- A: First file, then request. To apply for a reduction in patent fees, you need to first file a fee reduction in the patent business processing system of the State Intellectual Property Office. After the filing is qualified, it will be valid for one natural year. During that year, the applicant or patentee can enjoy a corresponding proportion of patent fee reduction in accordance with the "Patent Fee Reduction Measures". At the same time, it is necessary to remember that this filing needs to be carried out in the patent business processing system every year , otherwise you will not be able to enjoy the fee reduction for patent applications that year.
Q: How to register fee reduction in the patent affairs service system?
- A: 1) Log in to https://cponline.cnipa.gov.cn/, fill in and submit the fee reduction filing information online;
- 2) Materials to be uploaded for filing:
- Enterprise filing:
- ①Copy of business license (with official seal)
- ② A copy of the annual corporate income tax return form of the previous year (with official seal); during the final settlement period, the enterprise shall submit a copy of the annual corporate income tax return form of the previous year (with official seal)
- Personal record:
- ①Proof of identity
- ②Proof of personal income in the previous year issued by the employer (with official seal)
- For those who do not have a permanent job, please submit a certificate of financial difficulties issued by the county-level civil affairs department or township people's government (sub-district office) of their registered residence or permanent residence.
- Patent agencies in some regions also require submission of social security related certificates and salary statements.
- Enterprise filing:
- 3) If the applicant is found qualified after review, he/she may submit a request for fee reduction to the State Intellectual Property Office.
- 4) If the filing is unqualified or expires, the filing party can re-fil the application.
- 2) Materials to be uploaded for filing:
Q: After the fee reduction registration is qualified, how to submit a fee reduction request to the National Intellectual Property Administration?
- A: If the applicant requests fee reduction when filing a patent application, he/she only needs to check "Request for fee reduction and have completed the record of fee reduction qualification" in the patent application application form;
- If an applicant or patent owner requests a fee reduction after the filing date, he or she must submit a "Request for Fee Reduction (Applicable if submitted after the filing date)".
Q: What other precautions should be taken?
- A: Since the fee reduction filing is only valid within one calendar year, the applicant or patentee needs to file for fee reduction every year if the fee reduction conditions are met. When filing for fee reduction, the applicant or patentee needs to select the year for pre-filing fee reduction. In the last quarter of each year, the filing window for the next year will be opened from October 1 for pre-filing.
Q: For the same patent, does a fee reduction request need to be submitted every year?
- A: For a patent or patent application, as long as a fee reduction request is submitted and a fee reduction approval notice is received within the effective year of the qualified fee reduction record, the subsequent related fees incurred in the case can enjoy the reduction, without the need to submit a fee reduction request every year.
Q: A patent was transferred from Company A to Company B. Company B filed an application for fee reduction in the same year, and the patent fee paid was after the reduction. Does it need to apply for fee reduction every year thereafter? Or does it only need to file once?
- A: For the same patent application, the applicant only needs to file once and submit a fee reduction request once. The patent applicant or patent owner can only request a reduction in fees that have not yet expired. The request for reduction of application fees should be submitted at the same time as the patent application. The request for reduction of other fees can be submitted at the same time as the patent application, or two and a half months before the expiration date of the relevant fee payment period. If the request for reduction is not submitted within the prescribed time limit, no reduction will be granted.
Q: If the applicant changes his name, does the patent fee reduction registration need to be changed? How to change it?
- A: For the qualified filing information, if the name of the applicant has changed, you can enter the patent fee reduction filing request module of the patent affairs service system, select the record that needs to be changed, and click "Name Change" to process it.
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