- within Intellectual Property topic(s)
- in United States
- within Intellectual Property topic(s)
On June 19, 2025, the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Protection Center (SIPPC) announced that starting from June 30, eligible Hong Kong enterprises and entities are allowed to apply for the expedited pre-examination service for their Chinese patent applications through the Center.
The expedited pre-examination refers to the process where an applicant requests a local intellectual property protection center to conduct examination on drafted application documents, before he formally files the patent application with the CNIPA. If the drafted application documents pass the pre-examination, the corresponding application filed with the CNIPA can enter the fast-track examination route, thus significantly shortening the examination process. Although there are multiple restrictions on the applications using the pre-examination route, such as waiving the right to actively amend the application and being unable to change the bibliographic items before grant, most patentable applications can receive the official notice of allowance within three months from the application date.
Hong Kong enterprises or entities eligible for pre-examination at the SIPPC are required to be in the following industry sectors: internet, new energy, high-end equipment manufacturing, and jewelry processing. Additionally, they must first complete entity registration through the SIPPC's pre-examination management platform, and only after successful registration can they be allowed to request for pre-examination. It is important to note that Hong Kong applicants who do not have a permanent residence or business location in mainland China should entrust a CNIPA recognized patent agency with the registration and subsequent pre-examination matters.
For Hong Kong applicants who wish to expedite the patent application examination process in China, in addition to the pre-examination route, they can also consider filing a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) request with the CNIPA or requesting for prioritized examination through the SIPPC.
Source: the Shenzhen Intellectual Property Protection Center (SIPPC)
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