The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) recently declared its participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Improvement Initiative, joining forces with the top five international IP offices: the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

CNIPA aims to achieve an average duration of 3 months from approving a PPH request to issuing the first office action this year. Additionally, it targets an average response time from examiner to applicant of under 3 months.

The PPH facilitates a fast track for patent examination across different countries or regions by enabling patent examination authorities to collaborate and expedite the patent examination process. Since November 2011, the CNIPA has established PPH partnerships with patent examination authorities in 32 countries or regions, enhancing international cooperation in patent prosecution.

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Author: Liliana ZHANG, Patent Attorney