I Have a US Patent. Do I Also Need a Chinese Patent?

Inventors and small companies that already hold a US patent often ask whether they also need one in China, especially when their products are made there. The short answer: a US patent has no effect in China. Whether a Chinese patent is worth it depends on where your products are made and sold, how easily they can be copied, and whether you can still file at all. This guide explains the rules on territory, deadlines and the different types of Chinese patent. It is general information; China's Patent Law and the facts of each case decide the outcome.

Patents are territorial

A US patent can stop making, selling and importing in the United States. It does not stop a Chinese factory from making your product, selling it in China, or exporting it to countries where you have no patent. Chinese marketplaces and China Customs act only on rights that are valid in China.

When a Chinese patent is worth considering

• Your products are made in China: a Chinese patent lets you act against copies at the source and, once recorded with China Customs, against infringing exports.
• You sell in China, or plan to.
• Copies are sold on Chinese marketplaces such as Alibaba, 1688 or AliExpress, where complaints need a Chinese right.
• The product is easy to copy from the outside, so the appearance or a visible feature is what competitors take.

If you neither make nor sell in China and copies are unlikely to come from there, the case for a Chinese patent is weaker.

Can you still file? The deadlines

1. Paris Convention priority: you can file in China within 12 months of your first filing for an invention or utility model, or within 6 months for a design, and keep the earlier date.
2. PCT: if you filed an international application, you can enter the Chinese national phase within 30 months of the priority date, or 32 months with an extension fee.
3. After these deadlines: your own publication, product launch or granted US patent normally counts as prior art in China. China has no general grace period like the US one year; Article 24 of the Patent Law allows six months only in specific cases, such as disclosure by someone else without your consent or first display at an exhibition sponsored or recognised by the Chinese government.

The three types of Chinese patent

• Invention patent: fully examined, up to 20 years from filing. The closest equivalent to a US utility patent.
• Utility model: for the shape or structure of a product, without substantive examination, up to 10 years from filing. There is no US equivalent. It is usually granted faster and is often used alongside an invention application.
• Design patent: protects the appearance of a product, up to 15 years from filing. China joined the Hague System in 2022, so designs can also be filed internationally.

If the invention was made in China

Under Article 19 of the Patent Law, an invention or utility model completed in China must pass a confidentiality examination by CNIPA before a patent application is filed abroad. This can matter if your product was developed together with a Chinese factory or engineers. Check this before filing in the US.

Practical points

• A Chinese patent application is filed in Chinese; the translation of the claims defines what you can enforce, so it deserves careful review.
• Agreements with your factory still matter: a patent does not replace confidentiality and non-use terms. See what to register and sign before sending drawings to a factory.
• Copies of your brand are a trademark question, not a patent one; you need a Chinese trademark as well. See what a small brand should protect first in China.

Frequently asked questions

Does a PCT application give me protection in China? No. It keeps the option open; you must enter the Chinese national phase in time and obtain a Chinese patent.

My US patent was granted years ago. Is it too late for China? Usually yes for the same invention, because it has been published. New improvements and new designs can still be filed before you disclose them.

Can I enforce my US patent against a Chinese seller on Amazon US? Yes, in the United States, through Amazon's procedures or US courts. That is separate from stopping the factory in China.

J&C Intellectual Property Agency, founded in 2008, is a CNIPA-recorded trademark agency and a member of the China Trademark Association. We handle trademark filings and customs recordals in China for foreign brands; see our trademark registration service.