Note: All fees listed above include the fees of the Dialog (international online retrieval system).

(2) Payment Methods

①SCUT (On-Campus) Clients: Payment must be made via internal fund transfer through the university's online financial system.

②External Clients: Payment by corporate bank transfer is preferred. Personal bank transfers are also accepted. 

Account Name: South China University of Technology

Account Number: 3602002609000733759

Bank Name: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Guangzhou Wushan Branch 

Client Guidelines

(1) An expedited fee will be charged if a Domestic Novelty Search is completed in less than 5 working days, or if a Domestic & International Novelty Search is completed in less than 10 working days. To ensure quality, we generally cannot accept domestic searches with a turnaround of fewer than 3 working days, or domestic & international searches in fewer than 5 working days.

(2) The Novelty Search Report is typically valid for six (6)  months, starting from the completion date indicated on the cover page. If a Supplementary Search is requested within this 6-month validity period, the following monthly fees apply. (A Supplementary Search involves updating the retrieval of the latest literature data without changing the original Key Novelty Points.

Domestic Novelty Search: 100 RMB × number of supplementary months

Domestic & International Novelty Search: 300 RMB × number of supplementary months

International Novelty Search: 200 RMB × number of supplementary months

Note: If the supplementary search is conducted after the 6-month validity period expires, the request is treated and charged as a new commission.

(3) You will receive 2 original copies of the final Novelty Search Report. If additional copies are required, the request must be stated in advance, and each extra copy will incur a production fee of 50 RMB. A production fee of 100 RMB per report will be charged if amendments (e.g., changes to the commissioning entity or project name) are required after the report has been completed and delivered.

(4) Once a Novelty Search commission is accepted, the commissioning party must pay the corresponding fees. A full refund of the fee will be provided if the search is cancelled before the work has started, even if the stipulated completion date has not yet arrived. The commissioning party must pay the full or partial fee if the search report is partially or fully completed at the time of cancellation.

(5) The number of Novelty Claim Points must be limited to 3 per commission. Requests exceeding 3 points require separate processing (i.e., treating them as separate commissions).

(6) Novelty Claim Points must reflect the technical features that establish the novelty and originality of the project. If the Novelty Claim Points do not meet the standardized requirements, the novelty search examiner will communicate with the commissioning party and request revisions. The official start date of the search is the date your novelty claims are finalized and approved.
(7) Once the Novelty Search commission is accepted, the content of the Novelty Claim Points may not be altered; otherwise, an additional fee will be charged. 

Search Resources 

Chinese Databases

International Databases

Dialog (International Online Retrieval System)

Patent Databases

Standards Databases

Contact Information

Location: Room 1009, 1st Floor, Wushan Campus Library

Telephone: 020-87110035

Email: liqb@scut.edu.cn

Hours: Monday to Friday

Morning: 8:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Afternoon: 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM

Note: For operational hours during winter and summer breaks and public holidays, refer to the official Library notices. 

Related Link

Sci-Tech Novelty Search Workstationof the Ministry of Education of China