China’s attempt to establish a patent priority review system

Recently, China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) released a draft, for public consultation, of the Administrative Measures on the Prioritized Patent Examination (hereinafter referred to as “MPPE”) which offers a glimpse into the prioritized patent examination system to be established and implemented in China.

According to the contents of the prioritized patent examination method, patent cases that meet certain conditions may apply for priority examination. The scope of patent cases that may require priority review includes several stages from patent application to patent review up to patent invalidation. For example, for what concern application and review, the focus should be on matters concerning Internet and new technologies or important industries supported at the national/local level. As for invalidation, the cases are supposed to be involving infringement, litigation/arbitration or concerning national/public interests. Meanwhile, the MPPE also stipulates some procedural conditions.

The most obvious benefit in implementing a prioritized patent examination is that case review time will be significantly reduced. For example, a utility model or design patent application approved for priority review will deliver results within two months upon the date of approval.

The establishment of a patent priority review system will serve as a legal guard to the transition from technology to product, resulting in giving priority to the most critical transition between an asset and the time needed of its implementation.