Patent protection in China

ith foreign corporations now eager to tap into the potential of its markets, China finds itself a top priority for many patent applicants. It’s also high on the agenda for UK prime minister David Cameron, who returned from a December 2013 trip to China encouraging economic cooperation between the two nations.

Efforts in recent years have significantly improved China’s IP landscape, and the growing number of applications flowing into the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) each year indicates that companies of all sizes have taken note. As the Chinese market continues to grow, start-ups should think now about the international market potential for their inventions.

Filing a patent application

There are two basic ways to seek patent protection in China: via the Paris Convention or the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). For a Paris Convention filing, also referred to as a direct filing, the process typically begins with the filing of a patent application in your home country, which establishes the priority date. You then have up to 12 months from the priority date to file a corresponding application into China.

Going down the PCT route, the process is similar to a direct filing in that you file the priority application, except that instead of filing an application into China at the 12-month anniversary you file a PCT application instead. A PCT application is basically an international placeholder. An applicant has at least 30 months from the priority date to file the PCT application in any of the 148 contracting countries, including China. For applicants seeking to delay patent costs, the PCT can often be a more advantageous route.