SIPO-EPO Electronic Priority Document Exchange to Start on 3 Sept 2012 

As of 3 September 2012, the electronic priority document exchange (PDX) agreement between the State Intellectual Property Office of China (SIPO) and European Patent Office (EPO) will come into force.

According to the agreement, the applicant of a Chinese national patent or utility model application or of a European patent application filed on or after 3 September 2012 claiming priority from an earlier filing of the application at EPO/SIPO will be qualified for the service at no charge.

The PDX agreement, by enabling electronic retrieval and transmission of priority documents from an Office of First Filing to an Office of Second Filing, will allow the applicants to claim priority in a more timely and cost-effective manner.