The pilot project of China's State Intellectual Property Office and European Patent Office will be launched on December 1, 2020
      Chinese patent applicants will be able to choose the European Patent Office as the international search unit

China's State Intellectual Property Office and the European Patent Office will launch a two-year pilot project. According to the project, citizens and residents of the people's Republic of China will be able to select the European Patent Office as the international search unit for international applications submitted in English according to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The pilot project will be launched on December 1, aiming at the PCT applications submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office of China or the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization as the receiving office. The maximum number of applications in the first year is 2500, and in the second year is 3000.

Shen Changyu, director of China's State Intellectual Property Office, pointed out that China attaches great importance to intellectual property work, and Chinese enterprises regard intellectual property protection as the guarantee for the formation of core competitiveness and the realization of sustainable development. The PCT international search unit pilot project of China EU two bureaus is an important achievement of deepening the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two bureaus, which will facilitate the applicants to obtain intellectual property protection in Europe.

Antonio camponos, director of the European Patent Office, said that this is a historic moment in the strategic cooperation between the European Patent Office and the State Intellectual Property Office of China. At the same time, it also shows the trust of the State Intellectual Property Office of China in the high quality work of the European Patent Office. The European Patent Office (EPO) is committed to providing the best service for Chinese and global applicants. It is a great honor to be the first international search unit outside the State Intellectual Property Office of China that can be selected by Chinese applicants.

In the transitional phase of the pilot project, for the international application submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office of China and selected the European Patent Office as the international search unit, the applicant shall pay the international search fee in Euro directly to the European Patent Office. In the near future, the pilot project plans to enable applicants to directly pay the international search fee in RMB when they submit their international applications to the State Intellectual Property Office of China.

If the applicant is a national or resident of the people's Republic of China and the international search is made by the European Patent Office as the international search unit, the international preliminary examination request for the international application shall be submitted to the European Patent Office, and the relevant fees shall be paid directly to the European Patent Office in accordance with Chapter II of the PCT.

The European Patent Office provides the applicant with international search reports and written opinions, and gives clear evaluation opinions on the patentability of the invention, so as to provide the basis for the applicant to judge whether to enter the national / regional stage (especially the European stage) according to the PCT treaty in time. In addition, Chinese applicants who hold the international search report and written opinions issued by the European Patent Office and want to speed up the application process can make an early examination request and enter the European regional stage ahead of time, without the need for European supplementary search.

For more information about the pilot project, please refer to the pilot project applicant guide issued by the State Intellectual Property Office of China.

Links: guidelines for applicants of pilot projects of the State Intellectual Property Office of China, FAQ Manual of pilot projects of the European Patent Office