The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has announced that in order to foster the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and support Macao applicants in getting effective protection of their IP rights in mainland China, the CNIPA will launch a pilot programme offering priority examination of invention patent applications in mainland China submitted by Macao applicants.

 

According to the pilot programme, permanent residents and legal entities in Macao may submit in person or by post their request for priority examination through the patent office of CNIPA in Guangzhou or Shenzhen. To be eligible for the priority examination, the invention patent application filed must be in the substantive examination stage in mainland China, the technical field of the application shall belong to a field specified in the Measures for Administration of Patent Priority Examination, and the classification of the application shall fall with the scope of Reference Table for Strategic Emerging Industry Classification and International Patent Classification (2021) (Trial implementation).

 

The pilot programme will come into effect on 1 July 2023.