Protection of Graphical User Interfaces as Registered Design Rights or Design Patents in China

• The official filing fee for a design application in China is RMB500.
• In China, a design application is limited to a single design. However, two or more similar designs for the same product (not exceeding 10 designs), or two or more designs for products of the same class that are sold or used as a set, may be filed as a single application. In such cases, no additional official fees are charged for the second or subsequent designs.

• Maintenance (annual) fees are required to keep a design in force, for up to a maximum of 15 years.
• Annual Maintenance Fees:
  • Years 1-3: RMB600 per year
  • Years 4-5: RMB900 per year
  • Years 6-8: RMB1,200 per year
  • Years 9-10: RMB2,000 per year
  • Years 11-15: RMB3,000 per year
• Fees are due annually on the anniversary of the filing date.
• A six-month grace period is available for late payment, with an additional late fee calculated by adding 5% of the full annual fee for the current year for each month that payment is overdue.

The typical time from filing to grant for a design right, including for GUIs, is approximately 7–8 months, assuming no objections or formalities issues arise. This timeline may vary depending on the workload of the Patent Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the complexity of the application.

• In China, there is no unqualified self-disclosure period.
• It is only in limited circumstances that prior disclosures made within 6 months prior to the application for registration does not destroy the novelty of the design, such as (1) first exhibition at an international exhibition hosted or recognised by the Chinese government; (2) first publication at a designated academic or technical conference; (3) disclosure by others without the applicant's consent; and (4) first public disclosure in the public interest during a state of emergency.

• In China, design applications cannot be extended for submission or publication to prevent disclosure. However, the examination process can be delayed through the “delayed examination” system, thereby postponing the grant and publication of the design to some extent.
• A request for delayed examination of a design must be submitted by the applicant concurrently with the filing of the design application. The delay period is measured in months, with a maximum delay period of 36 months from the effective date of the delayed examination request.

• A PoA is not required unless the application is filed through an agency. Foreign applicants without a permanent residence or place of business in China must appoint a Chinese patent agency and submit a PoA.
• Other required documents include a request, images or photographs of the design, and a brief description.
• If priority is claimed, a written statement must be submitted at filing, and a copy of the priority application must be provided at the latest within three months of the filing date.

• Priority documents can be filed at the latest within three months of the filing date.
• WIPO DAS codes are accepted for electronic exchange.
• If the original document is not in Chinese, a translation must be provided.

• Design applications undergo preliminary examination, not substantive examination.
• However, preliminary examination includes assessment of “obvious differences” compared to prior designs.
• Preliminary examination includes a review of formalities, patentability requirements, and obvious differences assessment.

• No clear provisions regarding whether examiners will conduct prior art searches.
• However, since preliminary examination includes assessment of “obvious differences” compared to prior designs, this involves prior art consideration and may involve searches conducted by examiners in practice.

• In China, priority claims are subject to examination for validity and compliance and must meet the “same subject matter” requirement. During examination, the focus is on verifying whether the designs in the priority application and the Chinese application belong to the same product, and whether the design claimed in the Chinese application is clearly disclosed in its priority application.
• If the design claimed in the Chinese application is not completely consistent with the drawings, photographs, or accompanying illustrations in the priority application, but it can be determined from the application documents of both that the design claimed in the Chinese application has been clearly disclosed in the priority application, then the design claimed in the Chinese application may be deemed to have the same subject matter as the design claimed in the priority application and may enjoy priority.

• There is no pre-grant opposition procedure for design applications in China.
• Third parties may challenge the validity of a granted design through invalidation proceedings.

• There is no explicit upper limit on the number of views required for a single design application. The number of views should be sufficient to clearly and completely express the design.
• For three-dimensional products, six orthographic projections are typically required if all sides are involved. If only some sides are involved, only the relevant views should be submitted. Sides that are difficult to see or cannot be seen when using the product may be omitted, with reasons clearly stated in the brief description.
• For two-dimensional products, a front and back view are recommended, but if only one side is relevant, only that view is necessary.
• For GUIs applied to physical products, views could be submitted in a manner of either an overall product incorporating the GUI, the GUI as partial design of a product or the GUI itself. When the distinctive features of the design relate to both the GUI and the physical product, the views should be presented in the same manner as traditional product designs. If the unique aspect of the design resides solely in the GUI, and it is important to clearly illustrate its position and proportion on the physical product, the views should be submitted as a partial design. In such cases, the brief description must specify that the protected feature is limited to the GUI. For GUIs applicable to multiple electronic devices, applicants may submit views showing only the GUI itself, provided the product indication includes the keyword "electronic device" and the brief description clarifies that the characteristic feature lies exclusively in the GUI.
• For an animated GUI, a view of initial state should be submitted as front view, and key frame views may be submitted to represent variation states and clearly indicate the complete changing process. Variation view titles should be marked according to the dynamic changing sequence.

• Animated GUIs can be protected as design.
• For an animated GUI, a view of initial state should be submitted as front view, and key frame views may be submitted to represent variation states and clearly indicate the complete changing process. Variation view titles should be marked according to the dynamic changing sequence.
• The CNIPA may, when deemed necessary, require the applicant to submit video files illustrating the changes in the animated GUI.

• Written disclaimers are not explicitly permitted. The scope of protection is determined by the visual representations submitted.
• The images or photographs submitted by the applicant must clearly display the design of the product for which protection is sought. The scope of protection is defined by the design as depicted in these images or photographs, and a brief description may be used to explain the design as shown.
• For a partial design, the applicant shall submit views of the entire product and indicate the portion to be protected using a combination of dotted lines and solid lines or other means. The submitted view should be able to clearly distinguish the parts that require protection from other parts. When indicating the parts that need to be protected using a combination of dotted lines and solid lines, solid lines indicate the parts that need to be protected, and dotted lines indicate other parts. As for photos or computer rendering images, the unprotected part of the design may be covered with a single-color translucent layer, and the protected part shall be specified in the brief description. If there is no clear dividing line between the parts that require protection and other parts, dot-dash lines should be used to indicate the dividing line.
• The applicant must specify the protected portion in the brief description, unless it has already been clearly indicated in the product views using a combination of solid and dotted lines. If dot-dash lines are used to mark the boundary between the protected and unprotected areas, this should also be described in the brief description where necessary.
• Colour protection requires submission of colour images or photographs with the colour protection request explicitly stated in the brief description.

• Line drawings, colour drawings, and photographs are all acceptable.
• Images must be prepared in accordance with the relevant national standards for technical and mechanical drawing regarding orthographic projection relationships, line widths, and sectioning marks. The shape of the design should be expressed using uniform solid lines. The shape of the design should not be expressed using shadow lines, indicator lines, centre lines, dimension lines, or dot dash lines. The omitted parts of elongated objects may be indicated using two parallel double dashed lines or natural break lines. Indicator lines may be used on the drawing to indicate sectioning positions and directions, enlarged areas, transparent areas, etc., but unnecessary lines or markings shall not be included.  
• Drawings may be prepared using drawing tools including computers, but shall not be drawn using pencils, crayons, ballpoint pens, or prepared using blueprints, sketches, or mimeographs.
• For design drawings prepared using a computer, the resolution of the drawing shall meet the requirements for clarity.
• Photographs must meet the following requirements:
  • Photographs must be clear and avoid any issues such as focusing errors that prevent the product's design from being clearly visible.
  • The background of the photograph must be uniform and free of any content unrelated to the product's design. The product and background should have sufficient contrast to clearly highlight the product's design.
  • Photographs should generally be taken using the orthographic projection rule to avoid distortion caused by perspective that could affect the representation of the product's design.
  • Photographs should avoid strong light, reflections, shadows, or reflections that may affect the expression of the product's appearance design.
  • The product in the photographs should generally avoid including internal components or props; however, if internal components or props are necessary to clearly display the product's appearance design, they may be retained.

• Copyright automatically protects original GUI elements as artistic works without requiring registration.
• Trademark protection is available through registration for GUI elements that function as brand identifiers.

• Design protection operates independently from copyright and trademark rights, allowing multiple IP protections to simultaneously cover different aspects of the same GUI.
• Copyright provides longer protection (for example, 50 years after the author's death for individual works in China) and requires proving both access and substantial similarity to establish infringement.
• Design offers shorter protection (15 years) but provide broader coverage against visually similar designs.
• Trademark protection can last indefinitely through renewals but is limited to protecting GUI elements that function as source identifiers.

• Product Association: In China, a GUI must be clearly associated with a specific product to qualify for design protection. The relationship between the GUI and the product must be explicitly defined, as a GUI cannot be protected as an object and it must be bound to a specific product.
• Human-Machine Interaction Requirement: Only GUIs with human-machine interaction functions are protected. Protection is not granted for game interfaces or patterns displayed on display devices unrelated to human-machine interaction, such as electronic screen wallpapers, startup/shutdown screens, and website page layouts unrelated to human-machine interaction.

• Clear product context: Always show GUI in context of specific product (phone, tablet, etc.). In China, GUIs cannot be protected in abstract.
• Prior art research: Conduct thorough prior art searches before filing applications. With introduction of “obvious differences” assessment during examination, prior art knowledge is crucial for avoiding rejections. Early research allows design modifications before filing and reduces post-grant invalidation risks.
• International strategy: Leverage China's Hague Agreement participation for streamlined international filing. The Hague system simplifies multi-jurisdictional protection processes.

• China is a member of the Hague Agreement. However, applications must still show the GUI in the context of a specific product, comply with Chinese examination standards, and meet language and product classification requirements.

• No major changes are currently anticipated. However, with the implementation of the partial design system, there is a trend toward weakening the reliance on the product carrier, potentially allowing for more direct protection of software interfaces such as GUIs in the future.