CNIPA and EPO extend the pilot project for international search authority for PCT Applications
Recent announcements from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) extend the pilot program that allows Chinese nationals and residents to choose the EPO as their ideal international search authority (ISA) and preliminary examination authority (IPEA) for PCT applications.
Since the pilot’s start on December 1, 2020, both domestic and foreign businesses in China have given positive comments and support for this program. The two-year initiative was initially supposed to end on November 30, 2022, but the extension will now let 3,000 more eligible PCT applicants take advantage of the deal for an additional year.
In the past, Chinese citizens and residents could only select CNIPA as their ISA and IPEA for PCT applications. For PCT applications that are intended to enter the European national phase, the pilot provides a different route for Chinese applicants to receive international search reports (ISRs) and international preliminary examination reports (IPERs) from the EPO.
Extended Pilot PCT Search Project by CNIPA and EPO
The possible acceleration of the European phase procedure is one of the key advantages of selecting the EPO as ISA (and IPEA). First, this is accomplished by saving the six months that the EPO would have needed to create a supplemental search report. Additionally, there is no need to react to the supplementary search report’s accompanying written opinion, which might save an additional six months.
Since the ISR was created in the official language of the EPO and does not require translation by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization if the Chinese applicants want to speed up the European phase by requesting an early regional phase entry, designating the EPO as ISA (and IPEA) will further speed up the procedure.
Chinese applicants will also have a solid foundation to decide whether or not to reach the European phase thanks to the ISR and associated written opinion issued by the EPO. Choosing the EPO as your ISA (and IPEA) may help reduce the cost of prosecution in Europe.
The PCT applicants must either (1) be nationals of China with a place of residence there or in one of the seven nations where the EPO cannot be designated as ISA, or (2) be nationals of one of the seven nations where the EPO cannot be designated as ISA and have a place of residence in China in order to be eligible to join in the pilot. The PCT application must be filed to the CNIPA or the IB in English and must also be in English.
United Arab Emirates, Australia, Canada, Dominica, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea, and Papua New Guinea are the seven nations where the EPO cannot be labeled as an ISA.
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