What Does a Patent Agent Do?

A patent attorney is a person who has obtained certain qualifications on behalf of others in patent application and other patent affairs. The patent attorney shall have certain conditions, and after examination and approval, the China Patent Office shall issue a patent attorney certificate. According to international practice, a patent agent must be an industrial property worker with excellent quality. In the patent agency regulations formulated by each country, there are provisions on the disqualification of patent agents at any time based on the behavior of patent attorneys. The specific business of patent attorneys can be roughly divided into providing patent consulting, handling application procedures, maintaining patent validity, and acting as litigation agents. Where the applicant entrusts a patent agency to apply for a patent to the Patent Office and handle other patent affairs, it shall also submit a power of attorney stating the power of entrustment. ^[1]

Patent attorney

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 These regulations are formulated in order to regulate the qualification examination of patent agents in accordance with the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China and the Regulations on Patent Agents.

Article 2. The Patent Agent Qualification Examination (hereinafter referred to as the examination) is a national uniform qualification examination for patent attorneys.

Article 3

The 2019 patent attorney qualification examination is held on November 2-3. ^[2]

(1) for

Patent Attorney changed its name

In view of the important role of the patent agency in the normal operation of the patent system, the Patent Agency Regulations (Revision Draft for Review) promulgated by the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council on February 11, 2011 changed the title of Patent Agent to Patent Agent , And made comprehensive provisions on the acquisition of qualification certificates and the issuance of practice licenses.

The relevant person in charge of the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council stated that such a change is to improve the social status of professionals engaged in patent agency affairs and enhance their sense of honor. And referring to the titles of other professionals in China that require administrative permission to practice, such as lawyers, physicians, certified public accountants, and other developed countries in Europe and the United States, the names of patent practitioners are changed.

Patent Attorney Access

With the consent of the State Council, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security issued the first batch of announcements on the clearance of regulated professional qualifications on May 15, 2012. Patent agents in charge of the State Intellectual Property Office were included in the first batch of published professional qualifications for admission.

The first batch of professional qualifications announced includes two types of professional qualifications: admission and level evaluation. Entry-level professional qualifications include 36 items such as patent attorneys, which are mainly set in accordance with relevant laws and regulations; level evaluation professional qualifications are jointly organized by the Ministry of Human Resources Insurance and relevant industry authorities of the State Council, combined with industry development and management needs, according to national professional qualification certificates The relevant regulations of the system are set; the professional qualifications of the skilled personnel in the above two categories are set in accordance with the "Classification Code of the People's Republic of China" and corresponding national occupation standards and relevant regulations. The establishment of patent agents is based on the Patent Agency Regulations promulgated by the State Council.

Since the State Council issued the Patent Agency Regulations in 1991, the State Intellectual Property Office has organized 13 national patent agent qualification examinations.

Number of patent agents

As of June 12, 2018, the number of patent agents qualified in China reached 37,000. ^[4]

As of September 30, 2018, there were a total of 2,094 patent agencies in China, and a total of 18,591 patent agents (note: because there are new, relocated, and cancelled patent agents each month, this number is a dynamic number) ^{[ 5]} .

Patent Attorney Code Standard

Order of the Director General of the State Intellectual Property Office ^[6] (No. 14)

According to the Chinese patent industry standards, the guidelines for serving the public, serving national macro-decisions, and serving the management of industry management departments are formulated. In order to promote the standardization of patent application agency in China, the Patent Agent Code Standard is specially formulated. The relevant regulations are hereby promulgated and will come into effect on June 1, 2002.
Director Wang Jingchuan November 1, 2001

Intellectual Property Industry Standard of the People's Republic of China (ZC 0002-2001)

1. Introduction 1.1 The general principles are to promote the standardization of patent application agency in China; to complement and serve the automation system construction of the Patent Office of the State Intellectual Property Office of China, to enable patent agents to better serve applicants; to ensure patent agency The standardization of documents when patent agents apply for patents facilitates public search and enables the exchange and sharing of patent information. It also facilitates the verification of the uniqueness of the identity of patent agencies and patent agents by the State Intellectual Property Office of China, and strengthens the management of patent examination processes; This standard is specially formulated.
1.2 Basic Principles of Formulating Patent Agent Code Standards 1.2.1 Principle of Advancedness. The standards formulated should be in line with the international advanced technology development direction, and can meet the development needs of the relevant business of the State Intellectual Property Office of China.
1.2.2 Simple and practical principles. The standards formulated should be simple and practical, conform to the specific conditions of the State Intellectual Property Office of China, have low implementation costs and be easy to implement.
1.2.3 Principles of openness and maintainability. The standards should be open and easy to maintain, easy to modify and expand.
1.2.4 Make full use of existing standard principles. The existing international standards, national standards, and ministerial standards should be followed and adopted in principle. If it cannot be used directly, it should be modified and used according to specific conditions.
1.3 Standard Principles of Patent Agent Code:
1.3.1 The principle of uniqueness and fixedness of the code. Patent agent codes must always adhere to uniqueness. It is determined that a code corresponds to only one patent agent's rule. Each code is not used by others as the legal meaning of its owner disappears. At the same time, the new patent agent code assigned by the patent agent during the period of belonging to the new patent agency must be fixed. This makes the code easy to use and manage.
1.3.2 The principle of practicability of the coding method of the code. According to item 1.2.2 of this standard, the coding method of the code should not only facilitate the preparation, implementation, management, and maintenance of the government management department, but also facilitate the understanding and use of external personnel and institutions Strive for simplicity, practicality, and standardization.
1.3.3 The principle of continuous improvement. This standard is continuously improved and is beneficial to users.
1.3.4 Normative principles of patent terms. The related terms involved in the patent attorney code standard are given by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China for commenting on the norms and made publicly available. The China National Intellectual Property Office has the sole and final interpretation of patent terms.
2. Scope of application This standard applies to:
Patent agency and patent agent representing patent applications in China.
Patent approval process manager.
Other users of this standard.
3 Terms and definitions This standard adopts the following terms and definitions, which are given a normative note by the State Intellectual Property Office of China.
Patent Attorney: Specialist who accepts the entrustment of patent applicants or other parties to handle patent applications and other patent affairs.
Patent agency: refers to a service agency that accepts a client's entrustment and handles patent applications or other patent affairs within the scope of the entrusted authority.
Code: Use a number, a group of letters, or a combination of numbers and letters to represent an object with a fixed meaning.
Uniqueness: A code represents only one patent agency or patent agent and a patent agency or patent agent is represented by only one code.
Fixedness: Once a patent agency represented by a code and a code representing a patent agency are determined, they will not change. The code of a new patent agent assigned by a patent agent during the period of belonging to a new patent agency will not change after it is determined. The third to seventh digits of the patent agent qualification certificate, that is, the large serial number, will not be changed after being determined.
Patent agency certificate: The certificate issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China to confirm the qualification of the patent agency, which is called the patent agency registration certificate, including the original and copy. The patent agency certificate is unique.
Patent Agent Qualification Certificate: A certificate issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China to confirm that a person has the qualification of a patent agent. The patent agent qualification certificate is unique.
Patent Agent Work Certificate: A practice certificate issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China to confirm that a person has the qualification of a patent agent and is authorized to engage in patent agency business.
Provincial administrative division code: According to the national standard GB2260-1995 coding rules of the "Administrative Division Code of the People's Republic of China", the first two provincial administrative division codes are adopted. (See Appendix 1 for details)
Big serial number: a set of consecutive numbers starting from a specific number, in which the last number is one greater than the previous number. This serial number uses a unified national sorting method.
Small serial number: a set of consecutive numbers starting from a specific number, in which the latter number is one greater than the previous number. The serial number is sorted by national administrative divisions.
Check digit: A number, letter, or combination of numbers and letters calculated from a number, a group of letters, or a combination of numbers and letters (referred to as source data for short). By transmitting or writing the source data together with the check digit, it can be checked whether an error occurred during the transmission or writing process.
Patent approval process manager: Processes, manages, and maintains application documents and related data during the process of patent application acceptance, approval, and process management.
Code manager: designated by the State Intellectual Property Office of China to be responsible for certain types of patent code managers.
4 Standards for Patent Agent Codes 4.1 The coding rules for patent agent codes use 11 Arabic numerals: 5 digits of the patent agency code + 3rd to 7th digits of the patent agent qualification certificate + 1 check digit.
4.2 Assignment and Management of Codes Code administrators designated by the State Intellectual Property Office of China shall assign patent agents with codes in accordance with this standard and reserve the right to modify them.
The code administrator designated by the State Intellectual Property Office of China is responsible for the indexing, management and maintenance of patent agent codes.
5. Responsibilities of Code Managers Code managers establish an effective operating environment for patent agent code standards. Its specific duties are:
Assign a patent agency code in accordance with this standard;
Responsible for the management and maintenance of the code set;
Ensure the uniqueness and fixedness of the code;
The code manager is responsible for interpreting the normative terms and definitions of the code standards;
Propose improvement measures.
6. Promulgation and implementation of this standard is promulgated and implemented by the State Intellectual Property Office of China.
6.1 Promulgation of Patent Agent Code Standards This standard was promulgated on November 1, 2001.
6.2 Implementation of Patent Agent Code Standards 6.2.1 Standard Implementation This standard is tentatively scheduled to be formally implemented on June 1, 2002. If changes are required, amendments to this standard will be notified separately.
6.2.2 Standards Supervision Standardization Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office of China supervises the implementation of standards.
6.2.3 Standard improvement The Standardization Committee of the State Intellectual Property Office of China reviews the suggestions for improvement made by the code manager and, if necessary, will develop new patent agency code standards. Appendix 1. National Standard of Administrative Division Code of the People's Republic of China GB2260-1995
2. Provisions related to the Standards for Patent Agent Codes The State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China, November 1, 2001 Appendix 1: National Standards for Administrative Division Codes of the People's Republic of China GB2260-1995
The national geographic geographic information system topographic database boundary and residential elements implement the national standard "Administrative Division Code of the People's Republic of China" (GB2260-1995), and some codes have been expanded as needed. The structure of the code is as follows:
List of National Provincial Administrative Division Codes <pre class = precontent>
Code provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities)
110000 Beijing 120,000 Tianjin 130000 Hebei 140,000 Shanxi 150,000 Inner Mongolia 210000 Liaoning 220000 Jilin 230,000 Heilongjiang 310000 Shanghai 320000 Jiangsu 330,000 Zhejiang 340000 Anhui 350,000 Fujian 360000 Jiangxi 370000 Shandong 410000 Henan 420,000 Hubei Province 430000 Hunan Province 440000 Guangdong Province 450,000 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 460000 Hainan Province 500000 Chongqing 510000 Sichuan Province 520000 Guizhou Province 530000 Yunnan Province 540000 Tibet Autonomous Region 610000 Shaanxi Province 620000 Gansu Province 630000 Qinghai Province 640000 Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region 650000 Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region 710000 Taiwan Province 810000 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 910000 Macau Special Administrative Region (National Geographic Information System Extension Code)
Appendix 2: Standards related to the Patent Agent Code Standard

1. Introduction As a supplement and comment to the Patent Agent Code Standard, the Regulations are also legally mandatory for ministerial standards.
The "Regulations" re-enacted the coding rules for the three patent agency-related codes, namely the "Patent Agency Code", "Patent Agent Qualification Certificate Number", and "Patent Agent Work Certificate Number", and regulated them as ministerial standards. And promulgation.
2. The goal is to strengthen the normativeness and legality of patent agency codes, promote the "three certificates" management of patent agent qualifications, and improve the unified management, coordination and supervision of patent agencies and patent agents by the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China. Applicant Services.
3 Principles for compiling the "Provisions" This "Procedures", as an appendix to the "Standards for Patent Agent Codes", shall stipulate uniform coding principles in accordance with Articles 1.2 and 1.3 of the "Standards for Patent Agent Codes".
4 Scope of Application This "Provisions", as an appendix to the "Standards for Patent Agent Codes", shall stipulate a uniform scope of application in accordance with Article 2 of the "Standards for Patent Agent Codes".
5. Standards for Patent Agent-Related Codes 5.1 Patent agency codes use five-digit Arabic numerals: the first two digits are represented by the provincial administrative division code specified by the state, and the last three digits are assigned the respective small serial number of the administrative division.
5. 2 The number of the patent agent qualification certificate uses 7-digit Arabic numerals: 2 digits of the provincial administrative division code + 5 digits of the large serial number.
5. 3 The number of the patent agent's work certificate uses 11-digit Arabic numerals: 5 digits of the patent agency code + patent agent qualification certificate number 3-7 digits + 1 check digit.
Note: "Patent Agent Work Certificate Number" is used as the "Patent Agent Code".
6. Assignment and Management of Codes As an appendix to the Standards for Patent Agent Codes, these Provisions shall uniformly assign and manage codes in accordance with Article 4.2 of the Standards for Patent Agent Codes.
7. Responsibilities of Code Managers As a appendix to the Patent Agent Code Standards, the Provisions shall designate a unified code manager and its responsibilities in accordance with Article 5 of the Patent Agent Code Standards.
8. The promulgation and implementation of the "Provisions" as an appendix to the "Patent Agent Code Standards" shall be uniformly promulgated and implemented in accordance with the relevant provisions of Article 6 of the "Patent Agent Code Standards".
State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China November 1, 2001

Attention of patent agents

Patent attorneys and lawyers are two different qualifications, although both handle legal affairs on their behalf. It should not be mistaken for a patent to be a legal event, and lawyers can arrange it, especially if the company has a legal adviser, and it is especially important to know whether his legal adviser is qualified as a patent attorney before deciding whether to entrust him to handle patent affairs.