Direct answer

Choose the patent type that matches the invention, then file before you disclose.

Invention patents are substantively examined and last 20 years from filing. Utility models cover product shape or structure, are faster and cheaper, last 10 years, and are a common China dual-file tactic. Designs protect appearance for 15 years under current law. Absolute novelty is the default: a disclosure anywhere can kill the filing unless a narrow grace period applies. Employee inventions have a service-invention overlay. This live URL remains the three-type explainer; we are not adding a duplicate patent slug.

The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Is this a method, a structure, or an appearance?

Methods generally need an invention patent, not a utility model.

Type
02

Has it been disclosed?

Papers, Kickstarter, trade shows, sales and GitHub all count.

Novelty
03

Who owns it — employee, vendor, or joint lab?

Service invention and contract terms decide the applicant.

Owner
04

Do you need China first, PCT, or both?

A China utility model can run beside a PCT invention filing.

Route

Working rule: Map the regulated role before marketing or launch in China.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Self-disclosure
Did the team publish or sell before CNIPA filing?
Novelty is usually gone.
Utility model for a method
Are you trying to UM a process?
Wrong type; expect refusal or a hollow right.
Vendor filed
Did the OEM apply in its own name?
Ownership fights are slower than a clean applicant from day one.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Invention recordWhat is new, drawings, and first disclosure date.
02Employment or OEM contractWho owns service inventions and improvements.
03Prior filingsPCT, foreign and earlier CNIPA numbers.
04Public-use timelineShows, papers, SKUs and repos before filing.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Should we always dual-file invention plus utility model?

Often useful for products in China, but it is a cost and double-patenting management choice, not a legal requirement.

Does a China patent cover export OEM?

It protects acts in China (make, use, offer, sell, import). Export-only making in China can still be infringement. Map the act, not only the destination market.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

National laws database (NPC)
CNIPA
PRC Patent Law
Supreme People’s Court