China joins Patent Prosecution Highway Improvement initiative

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has announced its participation in the "PPH Improvement Initiative", which aims to improve the user experience of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).

This collaborative effort involves five leading intellectual property (IP) offices known as IP5: China, the United States, Europe, Japan, and the Republic of Korea.

The initiative's primary goal is to achieve an average processing time of three months from the PPH request grant to the issuance of the first office action. Additionally, it aims to reduce the average response time from examiners to applicants, providing PPH users with a more predictable examination cycle.