Accelerated Patent Examination中国China Patent OfficeCNIPAHong KongInventionsPrioritized Examination
2023年1月4日

BREAKING NEWS: New Pilot Program for Hong Kong Applicants to get Accelerated Patent Examination in the Chinese Patent Office Starting January 1, 2023

New year, new resolutions! The CNIPA has recently announced a pilot program that provides Hong Kong applicants the opportunity to expedite their patent applications filed in China. Starting 1 Jan 2023, Hong Kong permanent residents and entities legally registered in Hong Kong can request prioritized examination for their invention patent applications before the CNIPA. To be eligible, the patent application must be:

  1. an invention application filed directly in China or via national phase entry into China in the substantive examination stage;
  2. filed electronically;
  3. the invention belongs to a qualified technical field, such as internet, big data, cloud computing, biotechnology, environment protection, high-end technology manufacturing, new materials, energy conservation, and more—check out this document (Chinese only) to see the eligible IPC codes; and
  4. the applicant or at least one co-applicant must be (1) a Hong Kong permanent resident or (2) a company established under Companies Ordinance in Hong Kong or a legal entity or organization of other types in Hong Kong.

To request a prioritized examination, the applicant will need to submit a request form along with other required documents to the CNIPA at one of the representative offices in Guangdong or Shenzhen, by mail or in person. Of particular note, applicants must submit information about the existing technology in the field, i.e., known prior art, not unlike an Information Disclosure Statement (IDS) in the US. The applicant must appoint an agency to file the request for prioritized examination unless they have a permanent residence or business office in Mainland China.

Additional Notes:

  • Same Day Invention + UM Applications will generally not receive prioritized examination
  • All foreign language materials must be translated into Chinese
  • There is no charge for this service
  • Restrictions may apply

EIP Comments

This ability to get prioritized examination is great news for Hong Kong permanent residents and Hong Kong companies. Hong Kong could become a very strategic location for international businesses thinking of setting up an office in Asia, especially if being able to get Chinese patents granted quickly is important. International companies can also consider partnering with Hong Kong entities, since co-applicants including a Hong Kong applicant can also enjoy this new pilot program.

If you think you may be eligible for this “fast track” route and would like some help, please feel free to contact us. Our Shenzhen entity Eagle IP (Shenzhen) is a registered Chinese patent agency and we can assist with applications under this pilot program.

Official details (Chinese only) can be found here: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/12/23/art_53_180967.html

For more details about prioritized examination, feel free to send us an email at [email protected].

Eagle IP is a top-tier boutique patent firm with a unique mix of experienced US and Chinese patent professionals with significant cross-border knowledge and experience. Our technically expertise covers wide range of technologies including, but not limited, to life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, pharmaceuticals, material and environmental science, chemistry and consumer electronics. We have years of experiences in drafting and prosecuting patent applications involving biological deposits, sequence listings, small and large molecules, drug discovery and development, material science, software and engineering, and many others.

This article is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice or a legal opinion on a specific set of facts.

About the Authors

Jennifer Che, J.D. is Vice President, Principal, and a US Patent Attorney at Eagle IP, a Boutique Patent Firm with offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Macau.

Audrey Cheung is a Patent Technology Specialist at Eagle IP, a Boutique Patent Firm with offices in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Macau.

其他文章

New Remedy in China for Fixing "Errors" in a Patent Application: Incorporation by Reference

2024年3月21日
Background As mentioned in our earlier article, the Implementation Regulations of the Chinese Patent Law (“Regulations”, similar to the CFR in the US) were approved in November, and the CNIPA finally made public the full text of the Regulations just before the arrival of the New Year. At the same time, the CNIPA also released the new […]

China Divisional Practice

2019年6月17日
China allows the filing of divisional applications but under specific circumstances. Most importantly, divisional applications can usually only be filed voluntarily during the prosecution of the original parent application. Once the parent application is granted or withdrawn, no additional voluntary divisional applications may be filed. However, divisionals can be filed to pursue subject matter not […]

What is the difference between an Invention Patent and a Utility Model Patent?

2021年8月13日
There are two types of patent protection in China. Invention patents (similar to a US utility patent) have a term of 20 years from the date of filing and may be granted for both methods and products. Utility model patents (similar to a petty patent) may be granted in China for technical solutions that relate […]

Compositions Limited by Use: A Cautionary Tale

2022年10月26日
Section 4.2.3, Part II Chapter 10 of the CNIPA’s Examination Guidelines (“Guidelines”) stipulates that if the specification only discloses one property or use of a composition, the composition claim shall be drafted as a “composition limited by the function or the use”. Furthermore, it specifically states that “most pharmaceutical claims shall be drafted as claims […]

我们的过去活动

Top crossarrow-right