Patent search is an important part of patent application and analysis. It plays an important role in protecting patent authorization, improving patent value, preventing infringement, and early warning analysis. It is also vital to the grant of patent and the development of enterprises. The Patent Search and Consultation Center of China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) provides a variety of patent search services. Thus, how to request CNIPA to conduct a separate patent search and get the official search report?

1. The type and fees of patent search

In 2020, the Search and Consultation Center of CNIPA optimized and adjusted the content and fee of Power of Attorney for the Search Service of the Patent Search and Consultation Center of CNIPA. And the latest basic search service items and standard of fee have been implemented on January 1, 2021. The types of patent search are as follows:

1.1 Novelty Search

“Invention and Utility Model Novelty Search”, “Design Novelty Search” and “PCT Special Novelty Search” are merged into “Novelty Search”;

The cost of “Novelty Search” is 2400 CNY/piece, which will be completed in 10 working days.

1.2 Granted Patent Search

“Granted Patent Search” includes “Granted Invention Search”, “Granted Utility Model Search” and “Granted Design Search” ;

The cost of “Granted Invention Search” is 10000 CNY/piece, which will be completed in 10 working days;  the cost of “Granted Utility Model Search” and “Granted Design Search” is 5000 CNY/piece, which will be completed in 10 working days;

1.3 Hong Kong short-term patent search

The cost of “Hong Kong Short-term Patent Search” is 2000 CNY/piece, which will be completed within 30 working days.

1.4 Special Subject Search

“PCT special novelty search + special subject” and “special subject search” are merged into “special subject search”; and the cost of “special subject search” is 5000 CNY/piece, which will be completed in 10 working days.

2. How to Request for Patent Search

2.1 Accepting agency: Patent Search and Consultation Center of CNIPA.

2.2 Required materials

1) Power of attorney;

2) Required technical materials for patent search;

3) Remittance slip.

2.3 Submission method

The petitioner can file the request by email or face-to-face, and the online service channel for electronic filing is suspended temporarily.

2.4 Procedure for patent search

The flow chart for requesting the CNIPA to conduct a separate patent search is shown below:

2.5 Special Note

The search report issued by the search center is not an administrative decision. The conclusion is based on the technical documents searched so far and is for reference only. In view of the magnanimity of technical literature and the inexhaustibility of search, it is not ruled out that new technical literature will be discovered in the future and the conclusion may be changed.

3. The explanation of additional fee

3.1 The type of search and fees are all based on the materials as the Chinese version. If the petitioner files the materials in English, the basic fee of the search will be charged doubled;

3.2 If there are more than 10 claims in the materials submitted by the petitioner, an additional 150 CNY will be charged for each claim from claim 11; if the pages of description and description drawings exceed 30 pages, an additional 50 CNY will be charged for each page from page 31; and if the pages of description and description drawings exceed 300 pages, an additional 100 CNY will be charged for each page from page 301;

3.3 For expedited patent search (except for Hong Kong short-term patent search), a 10% service fee will be charged for each working day completed in advance;

3.4 If you need to search for chemical structures and gene sequences, you must pay additional search fees in accordance with STN international online search fees;

3.5 The search report (including comparative documents, except for Hong Kong short-term patent ) will be issued in the electronic version by default, and a service fee of 100 CNY will be charged if the paper report is required;

3.6 If the search report is sent to areas outside of China mainland, a postage fee of 100 CNY/piece will be charged.