Foreigners, foreign enterprises and other foreign organizations with permanent residence or business offices in China can enjoy national treatment in the protection of patent rights, that is, they have the same right to apply for patents as their own nationals, thus obtaining patent protection. A foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organization without a habitual residence or business office in China may, according to the Patent Law, apply for a patent in China under any of the following three circumstances:
(1) The bilateral agreement between the country to which the foreigner belongs and China stipulates that each other shall grant patent protection to the other’s nationals.
(2) The country to which the foreigner belongs and the international treaty to which China is a party stipulate that each other shall grant patent protection to its nationals.
(3) Although the country to which the foreigner belongs and China have neither signed a bilateral agreement nor joined an international treaty, the other party provides patent protection for our nationals in the Patent Law or in practice according to the principle of reciprocity. “