Patent Law of the People's Republic of China
Author:sipoIssuing Date:2008-01-24 13:36:52Source:sipo
(1) where an annual fee is not paid as prescribed;
(2) where the patentee abandons his or its patent right by a written declaration.
Any cessation of the patent right shall be registered and announced by the Patent Administration Department Under the State Council .
Article 45. Where, starting from the date of the announcement of the grant of the patent right by the patent administration department under the State Council, any entity or individual considers that the grant of the said patent right is not in conformity with the relevant provisions of this Law, it or he may request the Patent Reexamination Board to declare the patent right invalid.
Article 46. The Patent Reexamination Board shall examine the request for invalidation of the patent right promptly, make a decision on it and notify the person who made the request and the patentee. The decision declaring the patent right invalid shall be registered and announced by the patent administration department under the State Council.
Where the patentee or the person who made the request for invalidation is not satisfied with the decision of the Patent Reexamination Board declaring the patent right invalid or upholding the patent right, such party may, within three months from receipt of the notification of the decision, institute legal proceedings in the people's court. The people's court shall notify the person that is the opponent party of that party in the invalidation procedure to appear as a third party in the legal proceedings.
Article 47. Any patent right which has been declared invalid shall be deemed to be non-existent from the beginning.
The decision declaring the patent right invalid shall have no retroactive effect on any judgement or ruling of patent infringement which has been pronounced and enforced by the people's court, on any decision concerning the handling of a dispute over patent infringement which has been complied with or compulsorily executed, or on any contract of patent license or of assignment of patent right which has been performed prior to the declaration of the patent right invalid; however, the damage caused to other persons in bad faith on the part of the patentee shall be compensated.
If, pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the patentee or the assignor of the patent right makes no repayment to the licensee or the assignee of the patent right of the fee for the exploitation of the patent or of the price for the assignment of the patent right, which is obviously contrary to the principle of equity, the patentee or the assignor of the patent right shall repay the whole or part of the fee for the exploitation of the patent or of the price for the assignment of the patent right to the licensee or the assignee of the patent right.
Chapter VI Compulsory License for Exploitation of Patent
Article 48. Where any entity which is qualified to exploit the invention or utility model has made requests for authorization from the patentee of an invention or utility model to exploit its or his patent on reasonable terms and conditions and such efforts have not been successful within a reasonable period of time, the Patent Administration Department Under the State Council may, upon the request of that entity, grant a compulsory license to exploit the patent for invention or utility model.
Article 49. Where a national emergency or any extraordinary state of affairs occurs, or where the public interest so requires, the Patent Administration Department Under the State Council may grant a compulsory license to exploit the patent for invention or utility model.
Article 50. Where the invention or utility model for which the patent right has been granted involves important technical advance of considerable economic significance in relation to another invention or utility model for which a patent right has been granted earlier and the exploitation of the later invention or utility model depends on the exploitation of the earlier invention or utility model, the patent administration department under the State Council may, upon the request of the later patentee, grant a compulsory license to exploit the earlier invention or utility model.
Where, according to the preceding paragraph, a compulsory license is granted, the Patent Administration Department Under the State Council may, upon the request of the earlier patentee, also grant a compulsory license to exploit the later invention or utility model.