A grace period is a period of time before the date of filing a patent application during which certain kinds of disclosure of the creation would be excluded when determining the novelty and inventive step of the creation. The duration is 12 months for invention or utility model, and 6 months for design, calculated from the date of earliest disclosure to the filing date.

The provisions regarding the grace period would apply when disclosures are made either intentionally or unintentionally by an applicant. Therefore, the content of the invention, utility model or design was disclosed in a printed publication, publicly exploited or publicly known prior to the filing of application, and patent application is filed within twelve(12)/six(6) months after the date of the disclosure, were all covered by grace period.

An applicant claiming for a grace period should state each fact and the relevant date of the disclosure and provide document(s) of proof.