Article 8 Where an application for a patent for invention relates to the secrets of the State concerning national defense and requires to be kept secret, the application for patent shall be filed with the patent department of national defense. Where any application for patent for invention relating to the secrets of the State concerning national defense and requiring to be kept secret is received by the patent administration department under the State Council, the application shall be forwarded to the patent department of national defense for examination, and the patent administration department under the State Council shall make a decision on the basis of the observations of the examination made by the patent department of national defense.

Subject to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the patent administration department under the State Council shall, after receipt of an application for patent for invention which is required to be examined for the purpose of security, send it to the relevant competent department under the State Council for examination. The relevant competent department shall, within four months from the date of receipt of the application, notify the patent administration department under the State Council of the results of the examination. Where the invention for which a patent is applied for is required to be kept secret, the patent administration department under the State Council shall handle it as an application for secret patent and notify the applicant accordingly.

Article 9 Any invention-creation that is contrary to the laws of the State referred to in Article 5 of the Patent Law shall not include the invention-creation merely the exploitation of which is prohibited by the laws of the State.

Article 10 The date of filing referred to in the Patent Law, except for those referred to in Articles 28 and 42, means the priority date where a priority is claimed.

The date of filing referred to in these Rules, except as otherwise prescribed, means the date of filing prescribed in Article 28 of the Patent Law.

Article 11 "A service invention-creation made by a person in execution of the tasks of the entity to which he belongs" referred to in Article 6 of the Patent Law means any invention-creation made:

(1) in the course of performing his own duty;

(2) in execution of any task, other than his own duty, which was entrusted to him by the entity to which he belongs;

(3) within one year from his resignation, retirement or change of work, where the invention-creation relates to his own duty or the other task entrusted to him by the entity to which he previously belonged.

"The entity to which he belongs" referred to in Article 6 of the Patent Law includes the entity in which the person concerned is a temporary staff member. "Material and technical means of the entity" referred to in Article 6 mean the entity's money, equipment, spare parts, raw materials or technical materials which are not disclosed to the public.

Article 12 "Inventor" or "creator" referred to in the Patent Law means any person who makes creative contributions to the substantive features of an invention-creation. Any person who, during the course of accomplishing the invention-creation, is responsible only for organizational work, or who offers facilities for making use of material and technical means, or who takes part in other auxiliary functions, shall not be considered as inventor or creator.

Article l3 For any identical invention-creation, only one patent right shall be granted.

Two or more applicants who respectively file, on the same day, applications for patent for the identical invention-creation, as provided for in Article 9 of the Patent Law, shall, after receipt of a notification from the patent administration department under the State Council, hold consultations among themselves to decide the person or persons who shall be entitled to file the application.

Article 14 Any assignment of the right to apply for a patent or of the patent right, by a Chinese entity or individual, to a foreigner shall be approved by the competent department for foreign trade and economic affairs of the State Council in conjunction with the science and technology administration department of the State Council.

Article 15 Except for the assignment of the patent right in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the Patent Law, where the patent right is transferred because of any other reason, the person or persons concerned shall, on the strength of relevant certifying documents or legal papers, request the patent administration department under the State Council to make a registration of change in the owner of the patent right.

Any license contract for exploitation of the patent which has been concluded by the patentee with an entity or individual shall, within three months from the date of entry into force of the contract, be submitted to the patent administration department under the State Council for the record.