Anyone requesting invalidation or part invalidation of a patent right shall submit a request to the Patent Reexamination Board. The Patent Reexamination Board is a department of the SIPO, independent from the Chinese Patent Office.

An appeal to the court can be lodged within 3 months of written notification of the Patent Reexamination Board's decision.

In order to avoid exposure of the person making request for invalidation, a "straw man" or merely-nominal person can be used instead of the real party in interest in an invalidation, but if the procedure goes into the appeal, the "straw man" will not be accepted to be entitled to appear at the court.

A Chinese Patent Attorney can not, for example, in theory file an application or invalidation in his own name, on behalf of his client.

The Applicant could withdraw such application prior to the invalidation decision made by the Board, but the Board has the right to decide whether ending the invalidation or continuing to make a decision when the patent is obvious to be invalid.

The Patent Re-examination Board shall make a decision after the examination of request for invalidation of patent and notify the applicant and patentee. Such decision shall be registered and announced by SIPO publicly. If the patent applicant is dissatisfied with the decision of invalidating the patent or maintaining the patent right made by the Patent Reexamination Board, the applicant may bring an action to the People's Court within three months from receipt of the notice.

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