Recently, the State Intellectual Property Office of China and the European Patent Office jointly issued a joint communique, announcing that the two bureaus will launch the pilot project of international search units under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) on December 1. According to the project, the European Patent Office will be selected as the international search unit for PCT applications submitted by Chinese applicants. The pilot project is an important milestone in the deepening of the comprehensive strategic cooperation between the two bureaus. It will provide Chinese applicants with more access to international search and facilitate their access to intellectual property protection in Europe.

The pilot project is applicable to PCT applications submitted to the State Intellectual Property Office of China or the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization in English. The maximum number of applications in the first year is 2500, and in the second year is 3000. Applications for international searches by the European Patent Office will not require a European supplementary search.

For more details, please refer to the joint communique issued by the two bureaux.