The State Intellectual Property Office has recently entered into “patent prosecution highway” pilot programs with the United States, Japan, Germany, Korea and Russia for acceleration of patent applications through the PCT and Paris Convention. Such programs have significantly reduced the time to first office action and allowance rates in countries where they have been introduced.
The USPTO website notes that under the pilot program between the USPTO and China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) an applicant receiving a ruling from either SIPO or the USPTO that at least one claim in an application is patentable may request that the other office fast track the examination of corresponding claims in corresponding applications. The Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage fast-track patent examination procedures already available in both offices to allow applicants in both countries to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently.
Under the PCT-Patent Prosecution Highway between USPTO and SIPO, an applicant receiving a written opinion or an international preliminary examination report from either SIPO or the USPTO that at least one claim in a PCT application has novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability may request that the other office fast track the examination of corresponding claims in corresponding applications. The PCT-Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage fast-track patent examination procedures already available in both offices to allow applicants in both countries to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently.