The new bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot between the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the European Patent Office (EPO) took effect on 1 August 2026. In the first week of implementation, practitioners have begun using the framework for accelerated examination based on favorable PCT and national work products. Applicants can rely on a positive examination outcome from either CNIPA or the EPO to seek faster processing of a corresponding application before the other office, reducing some duplication in search and examination.
For portfolios spanning China and Europe, the practical gain is not simply speed. The arrangement gives applicants another way to sequence prosecution around whichever office produces a useful result first. At the EPO, a PPH request does not attract an additional official fee beyond the ordinary prosecution costs, which makes the route easier to consider where claim scope and timing already align. Acceleration does not lower substantive patentability standards, however, so applicants should coordinate corresponding claims and examination records early; otherwise, differences between the two cases may limit the efficiency that PPH is intended to deliver.
