Summary
There are three types of patents in China, i.e. Invention Patent, Utility Model and Industrial Design. The invention patent mainly protects subject matters of products, methods and improved technical solutions. The invention patent application is published on 18 months from filing date or priority date, and invention patent adopts substantive examination.
The Utility Model protects subject matters of product shapes, structure or their combinations. The Utility Model adopts preliminary examination which only examines obvious novelty issues without prior art search except formality check. Utility Model will be registered once it passes preliminary examination.
The industrial design protects subject matters of product configurations, patterns or the combination of colors, shapes and patterns with sense of beauty and applicable in industry. Industrial Design adopts preliminary examination which only examines obvious novelty issue without prior art search except formality check. Industrial design is registered after passing preliminary examination.