Official fees include the application fee (with an additional charge for invention patents exceeding a specified page count in the specification), publication and printing fees, the substantive examination request fee, and the grant registration fee. Following grant, annual maintenance fees apply and increase progressively with the patent's age. If unpaid within the statutory grace period, the patent lapses. Applicants who qualify can record a fee reduction with CNIPA, on the rates and conditions set by the regulations in force.
Professional fees are tiered by technical field, complexity of the solution, and drafting workload. They normally cover discussing the technical solution with the inventors, searching, drafting the application, filing, and managing prosecution. Office action responses, reexamination and invalidation are billed separately. Where a case crosses languages, translation costs apply as well — and the Chinese text, not the original, sets the scope of protection ultimately obtained.
