Article 12 Except as provided for in Article 14 of this Law, any entity or individual exploiting the patent of another must conclude a written licensing contract with the patentee and pay the patentee a fee for the exploitation of its or his patent. The licensee shall not have the right to authorize any entity or individual other than that referred to in the contract to exploit the patent.

Article 13 After the application for an invention patent has been publicly announced, the applicant may require the entities or individuals exploiting the invention to pay an appropriate fee.

Article 14 Where any patent for invention, which belongs to any State-owned enterprise or institution, is of great significance to the interests of the State or the public, the competent departments concerned under the State Council and the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions or municipalities directly under the Central Government may, after approval by the State Council, decide that the patented invention be widely applied within the approved limits, and allow designated entities to exploit that invention. The exploiting entity shall, according to the regulations of the State, pay a fee for exploitation to the patentee .

Any patent for invention belonging to a Chinese individual or an entity under collective ownership, which is of great significance to the interests of the State or the public and needs to be widely applied, may be treated alike by making reference to the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

Article 15 The patentee shall have the right to affix a patent marking and indicate the patent number on the patented product or on the packaging of that product.

Article 16 The entity that is granted a patent right shall reward to the inventor or creator of a service invention--creation and, upon exploitation of the patented invention-creation, shall give the inventor or creator a reasonable remuneration based on the extent the invention-creation is applied and the economic benefits it yields.

Article 17 An inventor or designer shall have the right to name himself as such in the patent document.

Article 18 If a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization having no regular residence or place of business in China files an application for a patent in China, the application shall be handled under this Law in accordance with any agreement concluded between the country to which the applicant belongs and China, or any international treaty to which both countries are party, or on the basis of the principle of reciprocity.

Article 19 Where any foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization having no habitual residence or business office in China applies for a patent, or has other patent matters to attend to, in China, he or it shall appoint a patent agency designated by the patent administration department under the State Council to act as his or its agent.

If any Chinese entity or individual applies for a patent or has other patent matters to attend to in the country, it or he may entrust a patent agency to act on its or his behalf.

The patent agency shall comply with the provisions of laws and administrative regulations, and handle patent applications and other patent matters according to the instructions of its clients. In respect of the contents of its clients' inventions-creations, except for those that have been published or announced, the agency shall bear the responsibility of keeping them confidential. The administrative regulations governing the patent agency shall be formulated by the State Council.

Article 20 Where any Chinese entity or individual intends to file an application in a foreign country for a patent for invention-creation made in China, it or he shall file first an application for patent with the patent administration department under the State Council, appoint a patent agency designated by the said department to act as its or his agent, and comply with the provisions of Article 4 of this Law.

Any Chinese entity or individual may file an international application for patent in accordance with any international treaty concerned to which China is party. The applicant filing an international application for patent shall comply with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.

The patent administration department under the State Council shall handle any international application for patent in accordance with the international treaty concerned to which China is party, this Law and the relevant regulations of the State Council.

Article 21 The patent administration department under the State Council and the Patent Reexamination Board under the department shall handle any patent application and patent-related request according to law and in conformity with the requirements for being objective, fair, correct and timely.

Until the publication or announcement of the application for a patent, staff members of the patent administration department under the State Council and other persons involved have the duty to keep its content secret.

Chapter II Conditions for the Grant of Patent Rights

Article 22 Any invention or utility model for which a patent right may be granted must possess the characteristics of novelty, inventiveness and usefulness.

The English translation is for reference only and if there is any discrepancy, the Chinese version shall prevail.