Patents
A new visual design of the whole or part of a product that is fit for industrial application.
View selection, consistency, solid and broken lines, and the brief explanation shape the right.
The current statutory term is 15 years from filing.
Marketing images, crowdfunding, exhibitions, supplier circulation, and sales can create novelty risk.
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Contact UsDesign patents protect visual appearance rather than technical function. Candidate subject matter may include a full product, a distinctive component, a packaging form, an ornamentation pattern, or a graphical user interface shown in connection with a product. The filing should focus on the visual features that drive recognition and that a competitor could copy without reproducing the underlying engineering.
Separate purely functional choices from design choices. If the value lies in how a feature works, invention or utility-model protection may be needed alongside the design filing.
Whole-product protection can be effective where the commercial appearance is a stable combination. Partial design can focus the right on a component or visual region while disclaiming the rest. The choice affects both validity and infringement comparison, so it should follow likely copying patterns rather than drawing convenience.
For a family of products, decide whether variants are truly similar designs, separate commercial designs, or a set. Filing structure and unity requirements should be checked before submission.
Prepare all required views from one controlled model. Inconsistent edges, proportions, shading, transparency, interface states, or omitted features can create uncertainty. Use permitted solid and broken-line conventions carefully to show what is claimed and what provides context.
The product name and brief explanation must support the views without importing a different product concept. Review grayscale and reduced-size versions because details that disappear in filing images may be difficult to rely on later.
For interfaces, identify the product context, static or dynamic states, transition sequence, and visual elements that carry distinctiveness. For packaging, separate structural form from logos, labels, graphics, and trade dress. Design patent, trademark, copyright, and unfair-competition protection may overlap, but each requires its own evidence and scope.
Coordinate filings so a disclosure made for one right does not undermine another. Preserve original design files, revision history, author records, and launch materials.
Create a disclosure gate for renderings, prototypes, supplier quotations, exhibitions, online listings, and investor decks. Record what was disclosed, when, to whom, and under what confidentiality terms. Grace-period arguments are fact-sensitive and should not replace an early filing strategy.
CNIPA: Patent Law of the People's Republic of China
CNIPA: Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law (2023 Revision)
This article is general information about Chinese IP practice, not legal advice for a specific matter. It was last reviewed on 2026-08-21. Rules, fees, and timelines change; confirm current requirements before acting. For advice on your situation, contact our team.