Latest News | Selection Rules for the List of Agency Precision Service Guarantee
Agencies shall log in to the association's official website and independently apply through the registration system. Applicant agencies must meet the following criteria:
Firmly uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and earnestly implement the Party's lines, principles, and policies.
Strictly comply with national laws and regulations, industry norms, and professional ethics, and maintain good professional integrity.
Sign the "Commitment Letter for Precision Service Guarantee of High-Quality Patent Applications" and fulfill the commitments therein, including having a professional service team, a rigorous quality review mechanism, scientific and effective internal management systems, and strictly implementing the patent agent signature responsibility system.
Possess certain professional capabilities with a stable team and relatively steady source of cases. Since its establishment, the agency shall have handled at least full-process invention patent cases (from application to conclusion, including granted and rejected cases) or invalidation/litigation-related cases, etc.
Neither the agency nor its registered patent agents shall have received administrative penalties such as warnings or fines, or self-regulatory sanctions such as reprimands or warnings from the industry association due to illegal agency activities within 1 year; nor shall they have received administrative penalties such as suspension of business or more severe sanctions, or self-regulatory sanctions such as public criticism or more severe penalties from the industry association due to serious illegal agency activities within 3 years. The agency shall have no irregular business practices and shall not be included in the list of abnormal business operations or the list of serious illegal and untrustworthy entities for patent agencies.
Prior to being included in the list, the number of abnormal patent applications reported by the agency (after withdrawal or conversion to normal status) shall be small and below a certain percentage of the total reported amount. The agency shall commit to resolving all existing abnormal patent applications within 6 months after being included in the list.
The association will conduct a comprehensive assessment of the agency's credit status, professional capabilities, service quality, and fulfillment of industry self-regulatory responsibilities. Agencies that fail to fulfill the "Commitment Letter for Precision Service Guarantee of High-Quality Patent Applications," especially those with any of the following behaviors, will not be included in the list:
- Engaging in the agency of abnormal patent applications in large quantities or with a high proportion;
- Leasing or lending agency qualifications;
- Forging patent applicant information through impersonation;
- Patent trading activities for improper purposes;
- "Ghost registration" of patent agents (i.e., agents being registered with an agency but not actually practicing there);
- Other suspected illegal or irregular agency behaviors.
Agencies that fail the initial review may contact the association's designated liaison to inquire about the reasons for rejection, provide explanations, and implement rectification measures accordingly. After completing the rectification, the agency may submit relevant explanatory materials through the registration system for re-evaluation by the association. If the rectification measures fully meet the admission criteria and review standards, the association will conduct a re-examination as soon as possible and issue a re-examination opinion based on the effectiveness of the rectification.
The association will continue to normalize the application process for the list, promptly handle agency applications, and announce new additions to the list every two months.
To ensure the quality and credibility of the list, the China Patent Agents Association will establish a strict withdrawal mechanism. Agencies that become dishonest, violate regulations, experience a decline in service quality, or no longer meet the admission criteria after being included in the list will be removed upon verification.
Agencies will be removed from the list and the removal will be announced if they have any of the following circumstances:
Verified violation of the commitments in the "Commitment Letter" or other behaviors, especially serious illegal acts such as reselling application accounts, fabricating patent applications, improper patent trading, submitting false certification materials, leasing or lending qualifications, handling a large number of abnormal patent applications, or arbitrarily subcontracting patent drafting to unqualified agencies;
Receiving administrative penalties or industry self-regulatory sanctions, having irregular business practices, or being included in the list of abnormal business operations or the list of serious illegal and untrustworthy entities for patent agencies;
Ineffective remediation of abnormal applications, failure to resolve all existing abnormal patent applications within the committed 6-month period, or handling a large number of newly reported abnormal patent applications after being included in the list;
Receiving clues about minor abnormal patent applications, low-quality patent applications, or other irregular professional behaviors, and refusing to make corrections or repeating such behaviors within 1 year after being reminded and interviewed by the association;
Maliciously misinterpreting the list's working mechanism or improperly using the list;
Gaining entry to the list through false materials or no longer meeting the admission and retention criteria for other reasons.
The association will collect clues through relevant business departments, local intellectual property protection centers, public reports, and other channels, and assign special personnel to verify the clues. After research and review, if a decision to remove an agency is made, the list of removed agencies will be publicly announced on the association's official website, and the list database will be updated simultaneously.
Agencies removed from the Precision Service Guarantee List shall not reapply for inclusion within 1 year from the date of removal. Specifically:
- Agencies that received administrative penalties such as warnings or self-regulatory sanctions such as reprimands/warnings due to illegal agency activities shall not reapply within 1 year;
- Agencies that received administrative penalties such as suspension of business or more severe sanctions, or self-regulatory sanctions such as public criticism or more severe penalties due to serious illegal agency activities shall not reapply within 3 years.
Additionally, the frequency of inspections on abnormal patent applications of such agencies will be increased, and they will be listed as key supervision objects by local intellectual property management departments.
China Patent Agents Association
November 24, 2025
