专利有几种类型？申请专利的条件是什么？

How many types of patents are there? What are the conditions for patent application?

专利分为发明专利、实用新型专利和外观设计专利，不同的国家，专利的种类也有所不同，例如中国、日本、德国等国家都有发明专利、实用新型专利和外观设计专利，美国、英国等国家只有发明专利和外观设计专利。此外，有的国家用一部法律保护所有的专利，有的国家用不同的法律保护不同的专利，例如中国在《中华人民共和国专利法》中同时规定了上述三种专利；德国、日本等国家对发明、实用新型和外观设计采取了三种不同的法律进行保护。

Patents are divided into invention patents, utility model patents and appearance design patents. Different countries have different kinds of patents. For example, China, Japan, Germany and other countries have invention patents, utility model patents and appearance design patents. The United States, Britain and other countries only have invention patents and appearance design patents. In addition, some countries use one law to protect all patents, others use different laws to protect different patents, for example, China stipulates the above three patents in the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China; Germany, Japan and other countries adopt three different laws on invention, utility model and design. For protection.

一、发明

First, inventions

何为发明？各国专利法的定义不尽相同。例如，美国和英国在专利法中没有对发明作出定义，只规定什么样的发明可以授予专利权；日本专利法对发明的定义为："在本法范围之内之发明系指利用自然规律作出的高水平的技术创造"；中国专利法没有对发明作出明确的定义，但是在《中华人民共和国专利法实施细则》中对发明作出了如下的定义："专利法所称的发明，是指对产品、方法或其改进所提出的新的技术方案"。尽管如此，发明至少具有以下含义：

What is invention? The definitions of patent laws vary from country to country. For example, the United States and the United Kingdom do not define invention in patent law, only specify what kind of invention can be granted patent rights; Japan's patent law defines invention as: "within the scope of this law, the invention refers to the use of natural laws to create a high level of technology"; China's patent law does not specify the invention. However, in the Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, the definition of invention is as follows: "An invention referred to in the Patent Law means a new technological scheme for a product, method or improvement thereof." Nevertheless, the invention has at least the following meanings:

1、发明属于技术领域，而不属于文学、艺术等其他非技术的领域；

1, inventions belong to the technical field, and do not belong to other non technical fields such as literature and art.

2、发明是一种技术方案，解决的是技术问题；

2, invention is a technical solution to solve technical problems.

3、发明是具体的、可实现的技术方案，不是抽象的、不能实现的想法；

3, invention is a concrete and feasible technical plan, not an abstract and impossible idea.

4、发明是利用自然规律的创造，产生的是自然界不曾存在的事物，而不是人类对自然已有事物的发现，也不是人类依靠智力活动所产生的人为的规则、规定和方法；

4. Invention is the creation by using the laws of nature, which produces things that have never existed in nature, not the discovery of things already existing in nature by human beings, nor the artificial rules, regulations and methods produced by human beings relying on intellectual activities.

5、发明的基本形式有两种，即产品和方法，前者包含机器、设备、仪器、制造品等；后者包含制造产品的方法、测量方法、通信方法、控制方法等。

5. There are two basic forms of invention, i.e. products and methods. The former includes machines, equipment, instruments, manufactures, etc. The latter includes methods of manufacturing products, measurement methods, communication methods, control methods, etc.

二、实用新型

Two. Utility model

实用新型是某些特定种类的发明的统称，一般只涉及具有一定形状或者结构的产品，相对于发明而言，通常为"小发明"。中国在《中华人民共和国专利法实施细则》中对实用新型的定义是"专利法所称的实用新型，是指对产品的形状、构造或者其结合所提出的适于实用的新的技术方案"。日本实用新型法对实用新型的定义是"关于工业物品的形状、结构或者组合所作出的实用的、新颖的技术方案可以依本法得到保护"。实用新型专利与发明专利主要区别有两点，一是实用新型专利对发明的高度即创造性的要求比发明专利要低；二是实用新型专利的保护期比发明专利要短。

Utility model is a general term for certain kinds of inventions, generally involving only products with a certain shape or structure. Compared with inventions, it is usually a "small invention". In the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, the definition of utility model is "utility model referred to in the Patent Law, which refers to a new technical scheme suitable for use in terms of the shape, structure or combination of products". The definition of utility model in Japan's utility model law is that "practical and novel technical schemes concerning the shape, structure or combination of industrial articles may be protected in accordance with this Law". There are two main differences between utility model patents and invention patents. One is that utility model patents require less creativity than invention patents. The other is that the protection period of utility model patents is shorter than invention patents.

三、外观设计

Three. Appearance design

一件外表在视觉上能够为人们带来美感的工业产品能够受到消费者的喜受，使其愿意购买。这种产品外观上的具有装饰性和美学价值的设计体现着人类的智力劳动成果，能够为产品的设计者、制造者和销售者带来经济利益，应当受到法律的保护。外观设计专利保护的对象正是这样的智力劳动成果。中国在《中华人民共和国专利法实施细则》中对外观设计的定义是"专利法所称的外观设计，是指对产品的形状、图案、色彩或者其结合所作出的富有美感并适于工业上应用的新设计"。日本外观设计法对外观设计的定义是"外观设计指产品的形状、图案或色彩或其结合，通过视觉引起美感的设计"。

An industrial product with a visual appearance that gives people a sense of beauty can be welcomed by consumers, making them willing to buy. This kind of product with decorative and aesthetic value design embodies the results of human intellectual labor, can bring economic benefits to the designer, manufacturer and seller of the product, and should be protected by law. The object of design patent protection is the result of such intellectual labor. In the Detailed Rules for the Implementation of the Patent Law of the People's Republic of China, designs are defined as "designs of appearance as referred to in the Patent Law, which refer to new designs which are aesthetically pleasing and suitable for industrial application made by the shapes, patterns, colors or combinations of products". The Japanese design law defines design as "design refers to the design of a product's shape, pattern or color or their combination, which causes aesthetic feeling through vision".