In December 2021, China Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued Announcement No. 464, announcing that the service of electronic priority document exchange between European Patent Office (EPO) and CNIPA via direct bilateral exchange platform is to be terminated from January 1, 2022.
This service was launched on September 3, 2012 and has greatly benefited the applicants of Chinese and European applications. The termination of this service is because EPO has decided to use WIPO DAS as the sole tool for exchanging priority documents electronically.
To continue to provide electronic priority documents for applicants of Chinese and European applications, CNIPA and EPO have agreed to use the WIPO DAS, instead of direct bilateral exchange platform, for electronic transmission of priority documents. That is to say, for applications filed on or after January 1, 2022, if applicants wish to obtain electronic priority documents issued by CNIPA or EPO, they should go through the formalities for depositing and retrieving the priority documents in accordance with the requirements of the WIPO DAS system. For guidance on the WIPO DAS system, please refer to the website: http://www.wipo.int/das/en/.
https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2021/12/10/art_74_172043.html
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