Why Listing a Chinese Patent Application Differs from a US Patent

A US granted patent has a clear number and date, but a Chinese application goes through multiple stages (publication, substantive examination, grant) with separate numbers. ATS systems rely on consistent fields — inventor name, patent number, filing date — and a Chinese application number looks nonstandard when mixed into a US-format resume. The key is to treat it as a pending patent (which it is until granted) and use US patent conventions for the output.

How to Format the Entry: The “(filed)” Rule

List the Chinese application as you would a US non-provisional patent application, using the Chinese filing number (CNXXXXXXXXX) and adding “(filed)” after the date. This signals to a human reader that it has not yet been granted and to an ATS parser that the field contains a patent entry (not a random string).

Correct format:

• CN108765432A, “Method for Reducing Signal Noise in LiDAR Arrays,” filed Aug 2020.

Before (confusing to ATS):

• Chinese Patent Application No. 201910123456.7, “Method for Reducing Signal Noise in LiDAR Arrays,” currently under substantive examination.

The “under substantive examination” text is unnecessary and may break ATS parsing because the parser sees no standard patent keyword like “Patent” or “Application No.” leading the entry. The “(filed)” suffix keeps the line parseable.

Where to Place It on the Resume

Place the patent application in a “Patents” section, not inside “Publications” or “Projects,” even if it is pending. ATS systems for R&D roles often have separate fields for patent count; a clean section ensures the count is recognized. If you have only one patent application, you can still create a single-line “Patents” section. Do not embed it under work experience bullets unless you also include the patent number there — but ATS usually treats bullet text as freeform, risking loss of the patent signal.

Before/After Example for a Research Scientist Role

Before (confusing and verbose):

• Research Scientist, ABC Biotech, Shanghai, 2019–2022
  • Developed a new protein purification method.
  • Filed a Chinese patent application (No. 202010123456.7) for the method; currently under examination.

After (clean and ATS-friendly):

• Research Scientist, ABC Biotech, Shanghai, 2019–2022
  • Developed a new protein purification method that doubled yield.

Patents

• CN202010123456.7, “Protein Purification Using Modified Affinity Tags,” filed Jan 2020.

Copy-Paste Checklist for Your Resume

• Use “CN” followed by the application number (omit the decimal and check digit if present — ATS may drop it).
• Add “(filed)” after the date, not before the number.
• Write “Patents” as a section header; if you have zero granted patents, still use this header — it is accurate.
• Do not include the word “Application” in the title line (e.g., write “Patent Application Title” in your mind, but output “Title” alone).
• Use month-year date format (e.g., “filed Mar 2021”) — not Chinese-era dates.
• If the patent has been granted, list with the grant number and no “(filed)” — treat it as a regular US patent.

FAQ

Should I translate the Chinese patent title into English?

Yes, always translate the title into English — ATS parsers and recruiters need to understand the invention. Keep the original Chinese characters out of the resume entirely.

What if my Chinese patent application has a publication number vs. application number?

Use the application number (the one that starts with CN followed by digits and a period) because it is the earliest identifier. The publication number is only needed if the application is already granted; otherwise, the app number suffices.

Can I list a Chinese patent application that was rejected?

No, never list a rejected application — it invites scrutiny about your success rate. Only list applications still pending or granted.

Will a Chinese patent application count toward “graduate” degree requirements for R&D roles?

No, it does not satisfy degree requirements, but it strengthens your “inventorship” metric. Some ATS filters have a yes/no field for “patent inventor”; a pending application qualifies as yes.

For a free, ATS-friendly resume template tailored for Chinese professionals (with an annotated example of how to place patents), visit PrismResume’s template library.

Get a free, ATS-friendly resume template with patent examples

Related reading

• How to List a Chinese Patent Application on a US Software Engineer Resume
• How to list Chinese patent applications on a US tech resume
• How to List a Chinese Patent or Publication on a US Resume