Design patent applications are subject to formality examination only in China. Any design patent application that has met all formality requirements shall be granted a patent right. The patent right for a design shall take effect as of the date of the announcement.

According to the Patent Examination Guidelines formulated by the SIPO, non-detachable products or parts are considered non-statutory subject matter for design patents. Accordingly, “designs-in-part” or “partial designs” that are considered statutory subject matter under In re Zahn, 617 F.2d 261, 268 (CCPA 1980), Article 3 of European Council (EC) Regulation No 6/2002 on Community Designs (RCD) and Article 2 of Japan Design Law, are considered non-statutory subject matter for design patents in China.

Since partial designs are not allowed in China, for drawings that have been to submitted to the other patent offices allowing the use of dotted lines to represent the part not intended to be claimed, should be redrawn with solid lines to comply with the SIPO’s practice. It is also worthy to note that shadow lines are not permitted in the drawings of a design patent application.

In the case of urgent filing such that the drawings could not be timely redrawn at the time of fling, drawings may be amended after filing. However, it should be particularly noted that all components of the design as claimed must have been illustrated in the original drawings, or the amendments may possibly be considered introduction of new matter and subsequently rejected by the SIPO. Accordingly, it is recommended that the entire article embodying the design be illustrated in the basic design application, even if only part of the article is to be claimed, to ensure that the drawing amendments do not result in introduction of new matter.

It should be noted that the prevailing Patent Law allows “two or more similar designs for the same product to be filed as one application (No more than 10 designs)”. This stipulation avoids the possibility that individual applications of similar designs impair each other’s patentability. And a brief description is required as a necessary part of the application document. It must include such information as the title and the application of the product, essential design points, and an indication of which drawing or photograph best reveals the essential design points.