To further implement the national intellectual property strategies and enhance the quality and efficiency of patent examination, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has revised the Patent Examination Guidelines. The updated guidelines, announced on November 10, 2025, via Decree No. 84, will come into force on January 1, 2026.
Key Revisions
The amendments focus on refining examination standards for emerging technologies and addressing practical issues to better serve innovators.
1. Strengthened Protection for New Fields and Industries
Plant Varieties: Clear definitions and expanded patentable subject matter are introduced to strengthen intellectual property protection in the seed industry and improve coordination with the plant variety protection system.
Artificial Intelligence: New guidelines include ethical considerations, examples for assessing inventiveness, and specific drafting requirements for AI-related patent applications.
Bitstream Patents: Special provisions are added to address patentability for bitstream-based inventions, aligning with the rapid growth of the streaming media industry.
2. Optimized Examination Standards and Procedures
Same-Day Applications: Only inventions that relinquish utility model rights may proceed to grant for invention patents, ensuring alignment with legislative intent.
Inventiveness Assessment: Features that do not contribute to solving technical problems will generally not support inventiveness, improving examination efficiency and application quality.
Invalidation Requests: Requests filed without genuine intent will be dismissed to curb malicious invocation of procedures.
3. Streamlined Practices for Innovation Support
On-Demand and Accelerated Examination: Clear rules are provided to meet the practical needs of innovators.
Divisional Applications: Guidelines specify the handling of priority rights in divisional applications that do not declare priority.
Priority Document Submission: Requirements for submitting proof of priority transfer are clarified to help applicants better understand examination standards.
Background
The revision process began with a draft released for public consultation from April 30 to June 15, 2025. CNIPA conducted extensive research, solicited feedback through written comments, seminars, and field studies, and refined the guidelines based on stakeholder input. The final version was approved by the CNIPA Committee and officially promulgated on November 10, 2025.
These updates underscore China’s commitment to fostering innovation by modernizing its intellectual property framework. Companies and applicants are encouraged to review the new guidelines to optimize their patent strategies.
For detailed advice on navigating these changes, feel free to contact our expert team.
For original full text for the revision, please refer to https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2025/11/13/art_74_202560.html
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