An invention patent has a statutory confidentiality period of 18 months from the date of filing, which is a common practice in most countries around the world. PCT international patent applications, Chinese invention patent applications, and US patent applications are all follow this regulation.  But for some reasons, the applicant may want to publish his/her application earlier, most countries will also provide such an option of early publication.    

1. Application procedures for early publication

Early publication means the applicant may request to disclose his patent application in advance for the invention patent from the date of filing (or from the earliest priority date of priority if there is). We will further explain the publication procedures of Chinese, PCT and US patent applications below.

1) For Chinese invention patent applications, according to the Chinese Patent Law, after going through the preliminary examination, will be published after 18 months from the date of filing the application (or from the earliest priority date if there is). The applicant can choose early publication when filing the request form for an invention patent application, or request early publication after filing the application and before the publication of the patent application. No official fee required. The application will be published after the preliminary examination of the patent application going through. A Chinese invention patent application can only enter into the substantive examination process after it is published. Therefore, a request for early publication often means early starting examination and early granting.

2) The time for publication of PCT international patent applications is typically 18 months from the filing date (or from the earliest priority date if there is). If you request early publication, you only need to submit an early publication request letter to International Bureau and pay the special publication fee under certain circumstances. Once receiving the request and the official fee (if it needs). The early publication request of a PCT international patent application can be withdrawn before the technical preparation for international publication is completed.

3) The time for publication of the US patent applications is typically 18 months from the filing date (or from the earliest priority date if there is). For US patent applications, applicants can submit Request for Early Publication, or may Request Not to Publish. Applicants can choose the corresponding options in the Application Data Sheet according to their needs. If the U.S. patent application includes Request for Early Publication, the application will be published approximately 14 weeks after preparation for publication. Applicants can also choose not to publish before granting, that is, submit a Request for Nonpublication, but the condition is that the applicant have not filed the patent application in any other countries/regions before, and will not file an application in countries/regions that adopt the early publication system. The patent applications that are selected not to be published before granting will be published after the patent is granted. However, for applications in the US, early publication does not mean that the application will be examined early.

2. The pros and cons of early publication

The date of publication of a patent application is of significance. It should be noted that early publication usually has the following pros and cons. Applicants should comprehensively consider whether to publish their application in advance.

Pros of early publication: 1) For applicants who wish to obtain Chinese invention patent as soon as possible, early publication can shorten the examination period of invention patent applications and make the application grant as soon as possible; 2) When any infringement happens, the applicant can claim damages from the date of publication. Therefore, it forms as a major advantage of Early Publication; 3) after the commencement of early publication the applicants have a whole application to show to the potential investors.

Cons for early publication: 1) Shorten the confidentiality period of patent applications and publish the R&D technology early will enable competitors to know the applicant’s R&D progress in advance, thereby improving the technology, which will harm the applicant’s interests; 2) Early publication of the patent-pending technology, will make it be the common knowledge, and if the patent application does not get granted, the invention cannot be protected, nor can it be protected as a trade secret; 3) On publication of the application, the invention becomes a prior art, if the applicant has opted for early publication, he loses the opportunity to withdraw the application.

Hence it can be concluded that early publication of the patent application, has certain benefits as well as some drawbacks. For long-term technology of invention patent applications, we suggest that it is best not to publish in advance, and for short-term technology of invention patent applications, it is recommended that you require early publication when filing the application, so it can be granted and enforced as soon as possible to protect the product