A two‑year pilot between the European Patent Office (EPO) and the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) will enable nationals and residents of China to select the EPO as their International Searching Authority (ISA) for applications filed in English under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The pilot, which starts on 1 December 2020, will be open to applicants filing with either the CNIPA or the World Intellectual Property Organization's International Bureau (IB) as receiving Office and limited to a total of 2 500 applications in the first 12 months and 3 000 applications in the second 12 months.
During a transitional phase, applicants filing their international application with the CNIPA as receiving Office and choosing the EPO as ISA will be required to pay the international search fee directly to the EPO in euros (EUR). It is planned to soon enable applicants participating in the pilot to pay this fee to the CNIPA in CN Yuan) on filing their application.
PCT applicants who are nationals or residents of China and whose international search was performed by the EPO as ISA will also be able to file a request for international preliminary examination with the EPO. They should pay the corresponding fee directly to the EPO, pursuant to PCT Chapter II.
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