In the face of international cooperation and competition regarding the comprehensive approach to IPR protection, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has long developed its goal to better serve the reform and opening-up. Internally, it has been exploring the actual needs of domestic innovation subjects whereas externally it has been strengthening overseas cooperation and exchanges as well as dissemination and application of IP results. CNIPA carried out a series of international work-sharing programs on patent prosecution, effectively speeding up the process of overseas patent application and prosecution for domestic innovation subjects and helping the innovation subjects going global. What achievements did the programs make? What are their practical advantages?
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
Achievements
Up to the end of 2020, CNIPA had signed PPH cooperation agreements with 30 patent prosecution institutions, including leaders in overseas markets such as the US, Europe, Japan and South Korea, Russia and Brazil, which are members of BRICS, as well as 16 partners along the Belt and Road Initiative. Thanks to such efforts, a network of patent prosecution highways has taken shape.
Advantages
The PPH program is currently the most active international cooperation program on patent prosecution, having the largest coverage. It allows Chinese enterprises to apply for and obtain patents at international patent prosecution institutions at a faster rate, with lower costs and with a higher rate of authorization.
PPH is a mechanism where a patent application under a first ruling from a first country can undergo accelerated examination in a second country which signed the PPH agreement. Since CNIPA began the bilateral PPH pilot for the first time with Japan Patent Office in 2011, the number of PPH partners and applications have increased rapidly. By the end of June 2020, PPH requests made by Chinese applicants had totaled 9066, with an annual growth rate of 22.6%. PPH has become one of the major ways for Chinese applicants to receive patent protection quickly in the overseas markets.
Patent Cooperation Treaty Collaborative Search and Examination (PCT CSE)
Achievements
This pilot program was jointly launched by CNIPA, United States Patent and Trademark Office, European Patent Office, Japan Patent Office and Korean Intellectual Property Office on July 1, 2018. By the end of June 2020, CNIPA had completed 93 examinations as the main IP office and 375 as a peer IP office.
Advantages
The PCT CSE program allows the IP offices in the five major regions to complete the PCT international search report followed by a written opinion. Therefore, it can help the applicant learn about the existing technology in the five regions relevant to their invention and better determine the prospect of authorization for the application in the regions before their investment.
Through the PCT CSE program, patent examiners in different IP offices in different countries using different languages, with one as main examiner and others as peer examiners, can complete the international search of a PCT application and provide a high-quality PCT international search report and written opinion to the applicant. The program has now entered the assessment stage.
EPO-CNIPA pilot project of PCT International Searching Authorities
Achievements
The two-year pilot program was launched by CNIPA and European Patent Office on December 1, 2020. The program will accept a total of 2500 applications to participate in the pilot for the first calendar year of its operation, and 3000 applications for the second year.
Advantages
Europe is one of the major markets for Chinese innovation subjects. The program can exempt the fee for a supplementary search report by the European Patent Office, reduce the procedure of examination and save time for Chinese applicants aiming to develop a patent portfolio in Europe.
The EPO-CNIPA pilot project of PCT International Searching Authorities is a new cooperation program carried out by China and Europe under the PCT international patent system. During the pilot, PCT applications (in English only) filed to CNIPA may have the European Patent Office as their international search office.