(1) Where a patent application is submitted directly to the Office of Acceptance or office of the Patent Office, the date of receipt shall be the filing date;

(2) For a patent application submitted by post to the acceptance office or agency Office of the Patent Office, the date of the postmark on the envelope shall be the filing date; If the postmark date is not clear and unrecognizable, the date received by the Patent Office or the agency shall be the application date, and the envelope shall be archived;

(3) For patent applications submitted to the acceptance office or agency Office of the Patent Office through the express company, the date of receipt shall be the filing date;

(4) For a patent application mailed or submitted to a non-accepting department or individual of the Patent Office, the date of mailing or filing does not have the effect of determining the date of filing. If the patent application is forwarded to the acceptance office or agency office, the date of actual receipt by the acceptance office or agency office shall be the date of filing.

Q2: Correction of the filing date?

Where, after receiving the notice of acceptance of a patent application, the applicant considers that the date of filing stated in the notice is inconsistent with the date of mailing the application document, he may request the Patent Office to correct the date of filing. Conditions for requesting correction of filing date:

① Within two months from the date of submission of the patent application document or within one month after the applicant receives the notice of acceptance of the patent application.

(2) A valid certificate of the date of dispatch issued by the post office where the patent application is received and sent, indicating that the registration number is the same as the registration number recorded in the request.