REGULATIONS ON PATENT COMMISSIONING
（Promulgated by Decree No.76 of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on March 4, amendment adopted at the 23th Executive Meeting of the State Council of the People's Republic of China on September 6, 2018）
CHAPTER ONE GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1. In order to regulate the patent commissioning with a view to guaranteeing the legitimate rights of consignors, patent agencies and agents, and ensuring the good order of the patent commissioning services, and promoting the healthy development of the patent commissioning industry, these regulations hereof are formulated in accordance with the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China.
Article 2. "Patent commissioning" stated here denotes the conduct of a patent agency who accept entrustment from a consignor or consignors to handle patent-related affairs including patent application and patent right invalidation etc. on behalf of the consignor(s) and within their authorized powers.
Article 3. Any entities and individuals may apply patents and handle other patent-related affairs in China on their own, or entrust a patent agency established according to the law to handle those affairs on their behalf, unless otherwise provided by the law.
The patent agencies and the patent agents shall handle the patent affairs according to the entrustment of the consignors.
Article 4. The patent agencies and the patent agents shall abide by laws and administrative regulations, professional ethics and practice disciplines, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the consignors.
The patent agencies and patent agents are protected by the law for their practice in compliance with the law.
Article 5. The Patent administration department under the State Council shall be responsible for the administration of the patent commissioning.
The departments in charge of the patent commissioning administration of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities shall be responsible for the patent commissioning administration within their respective administrative areas.
Article 6. The patent agencies and the patent agents may establish their own association organizations and participate therein in accordance with the law.
The patent association organizations shall formulate relevant regulations for their self-discipline. The self-discipline regulations for the patent association organization shall not conflict with the law and the regulation of the State.
The patent administration department of the State Council shall supervise and guide the patent association organizations in accordance with the law.
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CHAPTER TWO PATENT AGENCIES AND PATENT AGENTS
Article 7. The organizational form of a patent agency shall be a partnership enterprise, a limited liability company, etc.
Article 8. A patent agency to be engaged in patent commissioning service whether in the form of a partnership enterprise or a limited liability company shall meet the following requirements:
(1) the patent agency must have a name in compliance with the law and the administrative regulation of the State;
(2) the patent agency must have a partnership agreement or an article of association for the company in a written form;
(3) the patent agency must have an independent business premise;
(4) the patent agency must have its partners, or shareholders in compliance with relevant regulations of the State.
Article 9. An agency to be permitted in the patent practice shall apply before the patent administration department of the State Council for a license of approval. Relevant document materials shall be submitted for the application. The patent administration department of the State Council shall make a decision on whether to issue a patent agency practice license within 20 days from the date of acceptance of the application.
In the event of changes such as the partners, shareholders or legal representatives of the patent agency, an amendment application procedure shall be completed.
Article 10. Any Chinese citizens who have held a college degree or above majoring on science and engineering may apply to participate in an examination for the national patent agent qualification. The candidates who have passed the examination will be issued a patent agent qualification certificate by the patent administration department of the State Council. Measures for the patent agent qualification examination shall be formulated by the patent administration department of the State Council.
Article 11. A patent agent having obtained the patent agent qualification certificate shall practice patent law in a patent agency and shall not commence practice before completion of a one-year practice training in a patent agency.
Article 12. A patent agent shall file a recordation with the patent administration department of the province, autonomous region, or municipality where the patent agency is located within 30 days from the date when the patent agent commences practice.
The patent administration departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities shall provide service for accepting the recordation of the patent agents through the Internet.
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CHAPTER THREE PRACTICE OF PATENT AGENT
Article 13. The patent agencies may accept entrustment to handle patent affairs including patent applications, patent right invalidations, patent application rights or patent rights assignments, and drafting of patent licensing agreements, etc., and may also provide consultation on patent affairs upon request from consignors.
Article 14. A patent agency shall enter into a contract with a consignor in a written form when the patent agency accepts an entrustment for a patent application or a patent right affair. After acceptance of an entrustment, the patent agency shall not accept any entrustment for a same patent application or a same patent right affair from other parties who have conflict of interest against the consignor.
The patent agency shall designate a patent agent or agents who practice(s) in the agency to undertake the entrustment for the patent affair. The designated patent agent(s) and their close relative(s) shall not have any conflict of interest against the entrusted patent affair.
Article 15. Where a patent agency is to be dissolved or has its practice license to be withdrawn or revoked, all its various pending entrustments of patent affairs shall be properly handled by the patent agency.
Article 16. The patent agents shall undertake an entrustment of a patent affair upon the designation of the patent agency where they serve at, and shall not accept any entrustment on their own.
The patent agents shall not practice patent law in two or more patent agencies at the same time.
The patent agents shall take their responsibility for those patent affairs that have been handled and signed signatures by them.
Article 17. The patent agencies and the patent agents shall bear the obligation not to disclose the inventions and creations which they have acquired in the course of their practice service, unless that patent application have already been published or announced.
Article 18. The patent agencies and the patent agents shall not apply patents or request invalidation of patent rights in their own names.
Article 19. The personnel who have worked in the patent administration department of the State Council and the patent administration department of the local people's government shall not engage in the patent agent work within a prescribed time period after leaving their position in accordance with the law and the regulation.
The patent agents who have worked in the patent administration department of the State Council or the patent administration department of the local people's government shall not handle patent applications that have been examined or patent lawsuits that have been tried by them during their service as the government personnel.
Article 20. The fees charged by patent agencies shall take the economic and the social benefits into account and follow the principles of voluntariness, fairness and good faith.
The State encourages the patent agencies and the patent agents to provide services to individual inventors and designers with no or low income and small and micro enterprises in order to aid them in their patent affairs.
Article 21. The patent agency association organizations shall, for strengthening its self-discipline administration for all their members, routinely organize and arrange training for the patent commissioning, professional ethics and practice discipline education, and punish members who have violated the regulations of the self-disciplines administration.
Article 22. The patent administration department of the State Council and the patent administration departments of the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities shall adopt random inspections and other methods to inspect and supervise the practice activities of the patent agencies and the patent agents.
Where any violation of the regulations are explored, such erroneous shall be castigated in a timely manner according to the law, and the inspection and ruling result shall be announced to the public.
The inspection shall not be charged with any fee.
Article 23. In order to let the public understand the operation situation of patent agencies and the practice of patent agents, the patent administration department of the State Council and the patent administration department of the people's government of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities shall strengthen the publication for the public information of the patent agencies and the patent agents.
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CHAPTER FOUR LEGAL LIABILITY
Article 24. Where a patent agency practice license or a patent agent qualification certificate is mistakenly obtained by means of falsification or concealing the truth, the patent agency practice license or the patent agent qualification certificate shall be revoked by the patent administration department of the State Council.
Where a patent agency, after obtaining a practice license, fails to meet the requirements of the regulations due to changes of conditions, it shall be rectified according to an order made by the patent administration department of the State Council within a time limit; if the patent agency fails to correct or pass the rectification within the time limit, the patent agency practice license shall be revoked.
Article 25. Where a patent agency behaves one of the follows, the patent administration department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality may give a warning to the patent agency，order the patent agency to rectify or correct within a time limit, or impose a fine of no more than 100,000 yuan; the patent administration department of the State Council may order the patent agency to stop undertaking patent commissioning service for 6 to 12 months, or revoke the practice license depending on the seriousness of the misconduct of the patent agency, if such misconduct has not been corrected:
(1) Having the partner(s), the shareholder(s) or the legal representative of the patent agency changed without taking legitimate amendment procedure;
(2) Accepting an entrustment from one party who have conflict of interest against a same patent application or a same patent right of one other party;
(3) Assigning one patent agent to undertake a patent affair having conflict of interest against close relatives of the patent agent;
(4) Causing a disclosure of a consignor’s invention or creation; filing a patent application or an invalidation request by a patent agent’s own name;
(5) Causing serious consequences due to the management negligence.
The patent administration department of the State Council may revoke the practice license of a patent agency according to the relevant laws and administrative regulations, where the patent agency is liable for a disclosure of a consignor’s invention and creation caused during their practice service，in which the disclosure involves national secrets or infringement of trade secrets, or for bribing any personnel of relevant administrative or judicial authorities, or for providing a false evidence.
Article 26. Where a patent agent behaves one of the follows, the patent administration department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality shall give a warning to the patent agent, order the patent agent to correct within a time limit, or impose a fine of no more than 50,000 yuan; the patent administration department of the State Council may order the patent agent to stop undertaking patent commissioning service for 6 to 12 months, or revoke the patent agent qualification on the seriousness of the mis-conduction of the patent agent, if such mis-conduction has not been corrected:
(1) Having not recorded as a patent agent in accordance with these regulations;
(2) Accepting entrustments of patent affairs on the agent’s own;
(3) Practicing patent law at two or more patent agencies at the same time;
(4) Representing as a patent agent in violation of these regulations in a patent application that has been examined or a patent lawsuit that has been tried or handled by the patent agent;
(5) Causing a disclosure of a consignor’s invention or creation; filing a patent application of other one's right or filing an invalidation request of other one’s patent right by the patent agent’s own name;
The patent administration department of the State Council may revoke the certificate of qualification of a patent agent according to the relevant laws and administrative regulations, where the patent agent is liable for a disclosure of a consignor’s invention and creation in the course of their practice service，in which the disclosure involves national secrets or infringement of trade secrets, or for bribing any personnel of relevant administrative or judicial authorities, or for providing a false evidence.
Article 27. Anyone who conduct patent commissioning service on their own without authorization in violation of these regulations shall be ordered by the patent administration department of the people's government of the province, autonomous region, or municipality to stop the illegal conduction, confiscate the illegal income, and impose a fine more than one times to no more than five times of the illegal income.
Article 28. Where the personnel of the patent administration department under the State Council or the patent administration departments of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities has violated these regulations, conducted abuse of power, negligence of duty, or malpractice for personal gains, shall be punished according to the law; if a crime is constituted, the criminal responsibility shall be investigated and dealt with in accordance with the law.
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CHAPTER FIVE SUPPLEMENTARY PROVISIONS
Article 29. A foreign patent agency who establishes a permanent representative office within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall be approved by the patent administration department of the State Council.
Article 30. Law firms may handle patent-related affairs in accordance with the Lawyer’s Law of the People’s Republic of China, the People’s Republic of China Civil Procedure Law and other laws and administrative regulations, but shall handle the patent application and invalidation of the patent right in accordance with the provisions of these regulations, of which the specific measures shall be formulated separately by the patent administration department of the State Council in consultation with the judicial administration department of the State Council.
Article 31. The administrative measures for patent agencies and patent agents that act as agents for national defense patent affairs shall be formulated separately by the patent administration department of the State Council in consultation with the national defense patent administration organization.
Article 32. These Regulations hereof become effective as of March 1, 2019.
Patent agencies established and patent agents having been practicing in accordance with the law before the implementation of these Regulations may continue to carry out patent commissioning service in the name of patent agencies and patent agents after the implementation of these regulations.
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