CNIPA Joins IP5's PPH Examination Cycle Improvement Initiative

On 11 April 2024, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced its joining of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Improvement Initiative of the IP5 Offices, the world's leading five intellectual property (IP) offices comprising the CNIPA, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). 

The initiative was launched by the USPTO and the JPO in 2022 with the aim of providing a more predictable PPH examination cycle by setting a 3-month pendency to each office action during the examination process. Joining the initiative, the CNIPA strives to achieve this year the target of an average time of 3 months, for issuance of a first office action from the grant of a PPH request and for examiner's response to applicant's reply.

PPH is a programme to fast-track patent examination, reduce examination workload, and improve patent quality by allowing patent offices to share the work results of a related application at a corresponding patent office via bilateral or multilateral agreements. China started implementing the PPH programme in 2011, and the CNIPA since then has entered into PPH agreements with patent offices of 32 countries and regions.