This manual gathers in one place the criteria to check when managing annuities for Chinese (CN) patents. It covers the anchor date for annuity counting, how deadlines are calculated, the grace period and late fees, restoration after lapse, official fees, and how annuities are treated under patent term compensation. It is organized from a practical management perspective so that both the rights holder's staff and the firm handling the portfolio can use it together.
1. At a Glance
- System type
- Annual annuity system Paid in one-year units
- Anchor date
- Filing date (for annuity counting) — payment begins after grant
- Deadline calculation
- Up to and including the corresponding date of the filing date in that year CNIPA official interpretation — the corresponding date itself is included
- Start of payment
- The grant-year annuity is paid during the grant formalities (receipt of notification + 2 months) No retroactive payment for earlier annuities. Annually thereafter
- Term
- Filing date + 20 years PTA/PTE compensation period counted separately
- Grace period
- 6 months Late fee 5% per month (0% for the first month, capped at 25%)
- Restoration
- Available — restoration of rights Receipt of termination notice + 2 months; restoration request fee CNY 1,000 + unpaid amount + late fee
- Reduction
- 85% sole / 70% joint Proof of income and tax payment in China required — practically unavailable to foreign rights holders
- Advance payment
- Multi-year advance payment not allowed — one year at a time
- Fee overview
- Years 1–3: CNY 900 → Years 16–20: CNY 8,000 each
2. Anchor date and deadline calculation
The basis for counting annuities is the filing date, not the grant date. However, the obligation to pay arises only after grant. In other words, "which year it is" is counted from the filing date, while "when payment starts" is determined by grant.
Each annuity is due up to and including the corresponding date of the filing date in that year. It is CNIPA's official interpretation that the corresponding date itself is included, not the day before it. No end-of-month adjustment rule applies.
Taking a case with a filing date of 2020-06-15 and a grant date of 2023-03-10 as an example, the annuity deadlines are calculated as follows.
| Annuity year | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Year 1 | 2021-06-15 |
| Year 2 | 2022-06-15 |
| Year 3 | 2023-06-15 |
| Year 4 | 2024-06-15 |
| Year 5 | 2025-06-15 |
| Year 6 | 2026-06-15 |
| Year 7 | 2027-06-15 |
| Year 8 | 2028-06-15 |
This case generates a total of 20 annuity deadlines. A characteristic of China is that the deadline recurs on the same month and day (June 15) every year. Accordingly, if the filing date field is blank in the docket, none of the 20 deadlines can be calculated.
3. Start of payment
There is no obligation to pay annuities before grant. The annuity for the grant year is paid at the grant formalities stage. The deadline is receipt of the notification to go through grant formalities + 2 months.
Annuities for years prior to the grant year are not charged retroactively. That is, even if examination is prolonged and grant is delayed, there is no procedure for settling the intervening annuities in a lump sum. From the year after the grant-year annuity is paid, payment is made each year on the corresponding date of the filing date.
The amounts actually paid at grant are the grant-year annuity and a stamp duty of CNY 5. The grant fee was abolished in 2018-08.
- Annuity numbers are counted from the filing date — first determine which annuity year the grant year corresponds to.
- There is no retroactive lump-sum payment for annuities before the grant year — do not include a retroactive settlement in estimates.
- The grant formalities deadline (receipt of notification + 2 months) is a separate track from the annuity deadline and must be managed separately.
4. Grace period and surcharge
After the deadline passes, there is a 6-month grace period. During this period the annuity is paid together with a late fee.
- Formula
- Full annuity × 5% × (months elapsed − 1)
- First month
- 0%
- Cap
- 25%
- Calculation base
- Full annuity before reduction Even where a reduction applies, the late fee is calculated on the amount before reduction
The fact that the late fee is based on the full amount before reduction is frequently misunderstood in practice. Even for cases with a reduction applied, the full fee is used in calculating the late fee.
5. Lapse and restoration
If payment is not made within the grace period, the right is terminated. The point of termination is retroactive not to the expiry of the grace period but to the original deadline, i.e. the corresponding date of the filing date in that year. This differs from countries where the right remains validly in force during the grace period.
China has a restoration of rights system. Restoration must be requested within 2 months of receipt of the termination notice. The costs are the restoration request fee of CNY 1,000 plus the unpaid annuity and the late fee. In cases of force majeure, separate criteria of 2 months / 2 years apply.
- Request deadline
- Receipt of termination notice + 2 months
- Costs
- Restoration request fee CNY 1,000 + unpaid amount + late fee
- Time of lapse
- Retroactive to the original deadline (corresponding date)
6. Fee reduction
China has a fee reduction system (费用减缴). The reduction rate is 85% for a sole applicant and 70% for joint applicants, and it applies for 10 years from the grant year. Eligible parties include individuals (average monthly income below CNY 5,000), enterprises (taxable income below CNY 1 million) and public institutions.
- To obtain the reduction, an annual recordal (备案) procedure is required.
- It cannot be combined with the 15% reduction available during an open licence implementation period.
- Late fees are calculated on the full annuity before reduction.
7. Advance and lump-sum payment
Multi-year advance payment is not possible in China. Annuities may be paid only in one-year units. A management approach of bundling several years in advance to avoid fee increases cannot be used for Chinese cases.
Accordingly, deadline events occur once a year, 20 times in total, exactly as scheduled. There is no way to clear subsequent reminders through a lump-sum payment.
8. Official fees
Annuities are fixed amounts by the bands below. There is no surcharge based on the number of claims. For utility models and designs, only the fee schedule differs; the rules are the same.
| Annuity band | Annuity (CNY) |
|---|---|
| Years 1–3 | CNY 900 each |
| Years 4–6 | CNY 1,200 each |
| Years 7–9 | CNY 2,000 each |
| Years 10–12 | CNY 4,000 each |
| Years 13–15 | CNY 6,000 each |
| Years 16–20 | CNY 8,000 each |
| PTA/PTE compensation period ⚠️ | CNY 8,000 per year (noted as newly introduced in 2024 — source needs verification) |
| Other costs | Amount |
|---|---|
| Stamp duty at grant | CNY 5 |
| Restoration request fee | CNY 1,000 |
9. Term extension
China has a pharmaceutical patent term compensation system (药品专利期限补偿, Patent Law §42(3)). It applies to product patents, process patents and medical use patents for new drugs that have obtained marketing approval in China. The compensation period is up to 5 years, and the total effective patent term after marketing approval of the new drug may not exceed 14 years.
- Legal basis · maximum period
- Patent Law §42(3) · up to 5 years
- Overall cap
- Total effective patent term after marketing approval of the new drug may not exceed 14 years
- Application deadline
- Marketing approval date + 3 months Even if a new drug has multiple patents, only one may be the subject of a request
- Type of annuity impact
- The term of the patent itself is extended and annuities continue
- Schedule cap when extended
- Up to year 25
- Annuity during compensation period ⚠️
- CNY 8,000 per year (source needs verification)
From an annuity management perspective, the key point is that China's term compensation is of the type that extends the term of the patent right itself. It does not create a separate new right requiring a separate record. Where compensation is granted, the annuity schedule that would normally end at year 20 continues for the length of the compensation period and may extend up to year 25.
A separate line item of CNY 8,000 per year is set for the compensation period ⚠️(source needs verification). Rather than extrapolating the rates of the ordinary bands, please confirm this item before reflecting it in an estimate.
10. Management checklist
Check first in the case docket
- Filing date — the anchor date for Chinese annuities. If this field is blank, none of the 20 deadlines can be calculated. Fill it in first.
- Grant date (publication of grant date) — used to determine which annuity year the grant year corresponds to.
- Date of receipt of the notification to go through grant formalities — the anchor date for the grant-year payment deadline (receipt + 2 months).
- Rights holder classification — the default for reductions is the full fee. Separately check whether there is a basis for applying a reduction.
- Chinese agency details — since procedures such as restoration must go through an agency, designate one in advance.
Payment cycle
- Upon confirmation of grant: determine the annuity number for the grant year based on the filing date, and pay the grant-year annuity by the deadline of receipt of the grant formalities notification + 2 months.
- After grant: from the following year, set an annuity schedule with the corresponding date of the filing date as the deadline each year. The deadline runs up to and including the corresponding date.
- Before the deadline: confirm the fee for the relevant annuity band. Since multi-year advance payment is not allowed, prepare only one year's amount.
- After payment: record the payment and reflect the next annuity deadline.
- If the deadline is missed: within the 6-month grace period, pay the annuity together with the late fee (full annuity × 5% × (months elapsed − 1), 0% for the first month, capped at 25%).
- If the grace period is missed: record the date of receipt of the termination notice and immediately confirm with a Chinese agency whether a restoration request is possible within 2 months.
Easy points to miss
- The deadline runs "up to and including the corresponding date". Setting it to the day before the corresponding date is off by one day.
- The lapse is retroactive to the original deadline. Even during the grace period the case is not in a safe state.
- The late fee is based on the full amount before reduction.
- Manage on your own schedule rather than relying on office deadline notifications.
- For cases with pharmaceutical patent term compensation granted, do not cut off the schedule at year 20; continue it through the compensation period.
- Register the compensation application deadline (marketing approval date + 3 months) separately from the annuity deadlines.
In iphere's overseas annuity and renewal management, the filing date is set as the anchor date to generate annuity deadlines each year, and the grace/delinquent status and the restoration window are displayed together. However, if case data such as the anchor date is missing, deadline calculation will not run, so checking the input at the case registration stage is the starting point of management.
Sources, cut-off date and disclaimer
This manual is based on iphere's August 2026 survey of country-by-country overseas maintenance rules, together with values produced by the deadline engine that runs on those same rules. Official fees and deadline rules change by office notice, so please confirm against the official source and your local agent before any actual payment or filing.