Patent examination and IP protection developments in PRC bring a more appealing environment for patentees and applicants

In recent years, China has seen rapid growth of patent applications, as well as continual improvement in patent examination and intellectual property protection.

Patent Examination Enhanced

In 2022, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) granted a total of 798,000 invention patents and received 74,000 PCT applications¹. To deal with the rapidly increasing patent applications, CNIPA has established seven Patent Examination Cooperation Centers, respectively in:

1. Beijing;
2. Tianjin;
3. Suzhou;
4. Zhengzhou;
5. Guangzhou;
6. Chengdu and;
7. Wuhan.

The seven Patent Examination Cooperation Centers have taken over the responsibilities of examination of patent applications, while the CNIPA headquarter focuses on patent reexamination and invalidation cases.