EPO-CNIPA Joint Communiqué: Chinese applicants may continue to designate EPO as ISA - Fondee IP Law LLC

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Nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China can continue to choose the European Patent Office as their International Searching Authority for international patent applications filed in English under the Patent Cooperation Treaty. Following the agreement between the EPO and CNIPA, the pilot was extended by one additional year until 30 November 2023 and up to a further 3,000 applications.

The extension was based on a positive evaluation of the pilot, which had been running since 1 December 2020. More than 270 applicants, including universities, research institutes and private individuals, had taken part, and companies in China showed strong interest in timely patent protection in Europe. By having their international searches carried out by the EPO, participants benefit from more legal certainty before entering the European phase and faster prosecution of their Euro-PCT applications.

The pilot also allows eligible PCT applicants to file a request for international preliminary examination with the EPO when the EPO performed the international search as ISA.