- CNIPA Order No. 85, the new Measures for the Administration of Prioritized Patent Examination, was promulgated on 28 July 2026 and takes effect on 1 September 2026, repealing the 2017 Measures (Order No. 76).
国家知识产权局令第八十五号《专利优先审查管理办法》于2026年7月28日公布、自2026年9月1日起施行，同时废止2017年6月27日公布的旧办法（局令第76号）。- The Measures contain 24 articles in six chapters and cover four case types: invention applications in substantive examination before first processing, utility model and design applications, reexamination cases, and invalidation cases.
新办法共24条、分六章，适用四类案件：处于实质审查阶段且未作出首次处理的发明专利申请，实用新型和外观设计专利申请，复审案件，以及无效宣告案件。- Cases running through a PPH bilateral or multilateral arrangement, or through pre-examination at a national IP protection or rapid-rights centre, are expressly outside these Measures.
依据双边或多边协议开展的优先审查（即PPH专利审查高速路），以及经国家级知识产权保护中心、快速维权中心预审合格后的快速审查，明确不适用本办法，按有关规定处理。- Eligibility requires significant innovation value and commercialisation prospects, plus one of five listed grounds, with emerging and future industries and key core technologies placed first.
适用条件要求申请”具有重要的创新价值以及转化运用前景”，并符合五项情形之一，其中新兴产业、未来产业与关键核心技术攻关被置于首位。- Prioritized examination carries no additional service fee, while abnormal filings or false materials trigger termination and penalties.
办法明确优先审查服务不收取额外费用；同时对非正常专利申请、提交虚假材料等违反诚信原则的行为设置罚则并可停止优先审查。- For foreign-invested enterprises, the provincial IP bureau recommendation and the industrialisation evidence file are the two practical bottlenecks to prepare before 1 September 2026.
对外资企业而言，省级知识产权局推荐意见环节与产业化证据材料，是2026年9月1日前需提前准备的两个实操瓶颈。
China’s Prioritized Patent Examination Measures from 1 September 2026: A Guide for Foreign Applicants | 中国专利优先审查新规2026年9月1日施行：外国申请人实操指南
Overview
On 28 July 2026 the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) promulgated the Measures for the Administration of Prioritized Patent Examination (《专利优先审查管理办法》) as Order No. 85, signed by Commissioner Shen Changyu. Adopted at CNIPA’s 4th executive meeting on 16 July 2026, they take effect on 1 September 2026 and repeal the 2017 Measures of the same name (Order No. 76, promulgated 27 June 2017).
The Measures run to 24 articles in six chapters: General Provisions, Applicable Conditions, Filing a Request, Review and Examination Procedures, Supervision and Administration, and Supplementary Provisions. For foreign applicants and foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs), three questions matter: which filings can be accelerated, what evidence must support the request, and which channel applies.
What Changes on 1 September 2026
CNIPA’s official explanation gives three directions of change against the 2017 Measures.
First, the applicable conditions are recalibrated to the new situation and to national needs: acceleration is concentrated on high-quality applications in emerging and future industries, and the circumstances in which prioritized examination will not be granted are expressly stated.
Second, the whole-process management system is completed and quality orientation reinforced: central–local coordination is strengthened, the recommendation work of provincial IP administrations is standardised, and penalties are introduced for breaches of the principle of good faith.
Third, procedures and standards are optimised: prior-art submission requirements are refined and no additional fee is charged for the prioritized examination service.
Scope: Which Cases Qualify
Article 4 defines four categories of case:
- Invention patent applications in substantive examination for which no first processing has been made. “First processing” means the examiner has commenced examination and issued a notification; once that happens the window has closed.
- Utility model and design patent applications.
- Reexamination cases for invention, utility model and design patents.
- Invalidation cases for all three patent types.
The fourth category matters most strategically: it turns prioritized examination into an enforcement tool.
The PPH Carve-Out: The Most Important Point for Foreign Applicants
Article 4 also contains an exclusion foreign applicants must read first. Where prioritized examination is carried out under a bilateral or multilateral agreement between CNIPA and the patent examination authority of another country or region — the Patent Prosecution Highway — or where rapid examination follows pre-examination at a national-level IP protection centre or rapid-rights-protection centre, the matter is handled under separate rules and these Measures do not apply.
Foreign applicants therefore run on two tracks. A case accelerated on a favourable result from the USPTO, EPO, JPO, KIPO or another PPH partner office stays on the PPH track, and the Article 5 conditions, recommendation requirement and penalties of Order No. 85 do not govern it. A case seeking acceleration on the merits of the Chinese filing itself falls squarely under Order No. 85.
Eligibility Conditions Under Article 5
Article 5 sets a threshold, then a list. The threshold: the case must have significant innovation value and prospects for transformation and application. In addition it must fall within one of the following:
- It involves an emerging industry or future industry, or a key core technology tackling programme;
- It involves an industry specifically encouraged by a provincial-level or districted-city-level people’s government;
- The applicant has already industrialised the invention-creation, has completed preparations for industrialisation, or has evidence that another party is working it;
- The Chinese application is one for which the applicant first filed in China on the same subject matter and subsequently requested substantive examination in another country or region;
- Other circumstances of major significance to the national or public interest.
Ground (3) is the workhorse for FIEs with a Chinese manufacturing or R&D footprint; ground (4) rewards a China-first filing strategy.
Timeliness Benchmarks Established by the 2017 Measures
The 2017 Measures established turnaround benchmarks that remain the usual planning reference: invention applications received a first office action within 45 days of the date of consent and were concluded within one year; utility model and design applications within two months; reexamination cases within seven months; invalidation cases for inventions and utility models within five months; and invalidation cases for designs within four months.
These are benchmarks of the earlier Measures, not provisions of Order No. 85, and serve only as a historical comparator.
How to File: Procedural Background
Filing had to be electronic, with a defined document set: the request for prioritized examination, materials on the relevant prior art or prior design, and supporting evidence. Except for an application first filed in China and subsequently filed abroad, the request had to carry a recommendation opinion signed by a relevant State Council department or a provincial IP administration. Once granted, prioritized status could be stopped and the case returned to the ordinary procedure if the applicant made unsolicited amendments, responded out of time, submitted false materials, or the filing was found to be an abnormal patent application.
Practical Steps for Foreign Applicants and FIEs
Map your route into China. Foreign applicants use three routes: a direct Paris Convention filing claiming home-country priority; the Chinese national phase of a PCT application; and PPH acceleration. Only the first two are candidates for Order No. 85 treatment.
Build the provincial relationship early. The recommendation opinion cannot be compressed at the last minute. An FIE needs a working channel with the IP bureau of the province where the Chinese entity is registered, covering intake process, review cycle and documentary format. Groups with several subsidiaries should decide which entity is the filing vehicle, since that fixes the counterpart bureau.
Assemble the industry evidence file. Self-substantiation is the applicant’s burden: a technical field statement mapping the claimed subject matter to the relevant industrial catalogue or provincial encouraged-industry list; industrialisation-readiness materials such as production line documentation, supply contracts, capital expenditure approvals and board resolutions; and evidence that a third party is working the invention-creation.
Use invalidation acceleration tactically. Because invalidation cases are in scope, an FIE sued for infringement in China, or asserting its own rights, can accelerate the corresponding invalidation proceeding — changing the leverage position in parallel litigation and settlement talks.
Respect the integrity red lines. Abnormal patent applications and false supporting materials attract both termination of prioritized examination and the penalty provisions of the new Measures. Filing-volume targets, subsidy-driven behaviour and unsupervised outsourced drafting are the usual sources of exposure.
Plan the transition. Requests filed before 1 September 2026 fall under the 2017 Measures; those filed on or after it fall under Order No. 85. For a borderline case, weigh the readiness of the recommendation opinion and evidence file against the tighter eligibility standard of the new regime.
Wider Policy Context
At a State Council Information Office press conference on 29 July 2026 on IP protection and utilisation during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, CNIPA said it would implement examination on demand with greater intensity, combining prioritized, rapid and deferred examination in a “fast and slow in combination” model. Order No. 85 is the prioritized-examination component of that design. Separately, the Trademark Law was revised in 2026 and takes effect on 1 January 2027.
Related Reading
See our overview of patent filing routes into China (No. 198), IP enforcement strategy for FIEs (No. 201), and trademark registration (No. 203).
中国专利优先审查新规2026年9月1日施行：外国申请人实操指南
概述
2026年7月28日，国家知识产权局以国家知识产权局令第八十五号公布《专利优先审查管理办法》，由局长申长雨签发。该办法已于2026年7月16日经国家知识产权局第4次局务会议审议通过，自2026年9月1日起施行，同时废止2017年6月27日公布的原《专利优先审查管理办法》（局令第76号）。
新办法全文共24条，分六章：总则、适用条件、提出请求、审核与审查程序、监督管理、附则。对外国申请人及在华外资企业（FIE）而言，需要回答三个问题：2026年9月1日之后哪些案件可以加快、请求背后需要什么证据、以及哪一条加速通道真正适用。
2026年9月1日起有何变化
国家知识产权局官方解读将本次修改概括为三个方向。
一是结合新形势调整适用条件、突出国家需求：聚焦新兴产业和未来产业的高质量申请，并明确规定不予优先审查的情形。
二是完善全流程管理体系、强化质量导向：强化央地协同，规范省级知识产权局的推荐工作，并对违反诚信原则的行为设置罚则。
三是优化操作程序和标准：完善现有技术材料的提交要求；并且——对企业知识产权预算有直接意义的一点——明确优先审查服务不收取额外费用。
适用范围：哪些案件可以申请
第四条规定了四类案件：
- 发明专利申请：处于实质审查阶段且尚未作出首次处理的申请。”首次处理”指审查员已开始审查并发出通知书；一旦发出，本通道即告关闭。
- 实用新型和外观设计专利申请。
- 复审案件：发明、实用新型、外观设计专利的复审案件。
- 无效宣告案件：上述三种专利的无效宣告案件。
第四类的战略意义最大：它把优先审查从申请端工具转变为维权端工具。
PPH除外条款：外国申请人最重要的一条
第四条还包含一项外国申请人必须优先阅读的排除规定：依据国家知识产权局与其他国家或者地区专利审查机构签订的双边或者多边协议开展优先审查的（即专利审查高速路PPH），或者经国家级知识产权保护中心、快速维权中心预审合格后开展快速审查的，按照有关规定处理，不适用本办法。
外国申请人因此处于双轨环境。凭借在美国专利商标局、欧洲专利局、日本特许厅、韩国特许厅或其他PPH合作局取得的有利结论而加快的案件，仍走PPH自身规则，第八十五号令的第五条条件、推荐意见要求与罚则并不适用；基于中国申请本身实质内容与转化运用前景寻求加快的案件，则完全落入第八十五号令。应在9月之前按加速通道对每一件在审中国案件打标。
第五条适用条件
第五条先设门槛，再列情形。门槛是：申请或案件须具有重要的创新价值以及转化运用前景。此外还须符合下列情形之一：
- 涉及新兴产业和未来产业，或者关键核心技术攻关的；
- 涉及省级或者设区的市级人民政府重点鼓励的产业的；
- 申请人已经产业化实施该发明创造，或者已做好产业化实施准备，或者有证据证明他人正在实施其发明创造的；
- 就相同主题首次在中国提出专利申请后，又向其他国家或者地区提出实质审查请求的该中国专利申请；
- 对国家利益或者公共利益具有重大意义的其他情形。
对在中国拥有制造或研发布局的外资主体而言，第（三）项是主力条款，证据要求也最明确。第（四）项则奖励”中国首申”策略。
旧办法确立的时限基准
旧办法确立的周转时限，至今仍是最常被引用的规划参照：发明专利申请自同意之日起45日内发出第一次审查意见通知书、一年内结案；实用新型和外观设计专利申请两个月内结案；复审案件七个月内结案；发明和实用新型专利的无效宣告案件五个月内结案；外观设计专利的无效宣告案件四个月内结案。
上述数字是旧办法确立的时限基准，并非第八十五号令的条文，此处仅作历史对照。2026年9月1日起实际适用的时限，以新办法及国家知识产权局的实施实践为准。
如何提出请求：程序背景
既有程序框架要求：必须采用电子申请方式；须提交优先审查请求书、相关现有技术或现有设计的信息材料及相关证明文件；除”就相同主题首次在中国提出申请后又向境外提出申请”的情形外，请求书须由国务院有关部门或者省级知识产权局签署推荐意见。优先审查获同意后，申请人若主动修改申请文件、答复超期、提交虚假材料，或者被认定为非正常专利申请的，可以停止优先审查，案件转入普通程序。
外国申请人与外资企业的实操步骤
梳理入华路径。 外国申请人通常通过三条路径进入中国体系：以母国在先申请为优先权基础的巴黎公约路线直接申请；PCT国际申请进入中国国家阶段；以及基于合作局肯定性结论的PPH加速。其中只有前两者是第八十五号令的适用对象。
尽早建立省级沟通渠道。 省级推荐意见无法在最后时刻压缩。外资企业需要与中国主体注册地所在省份的知识产权局——必要时还包括设区的市级知识产权局——建立工作通道，掌握受理流程、审核周期与文件格式要求。在中国设有多家子公司的集团应明确由哪一主体作为加速案件的申请人，因为这直接决定对接哪一个机关。
搭建产业证据材料包。 自证责任在申请人。一份可站得住的材料包包含：技术领域说明，将权利要求所涉主题对应到相关产业目录或省级重点鼓励产业清单；产业化准备材料，如产线文件、供货合同、资本开支审批、董事会决议；以及在需要援引时，他人正在实施该发明创造的证据。
将无效宣告加速用作战术工具。 由于无效宣告案件在适用范围之内，在中国被诉侵权或正在主张自身权利的外资企业，可以就相应的无效宣告程序请求优先审查。压缩无效宣告时间表，会改变平行诉讼与和解谈判中的杠杆位置。
守住诚信红线。 非正常专利申请与虚假证明材料，现在不仅会导致停止优先审查，还会触发新办法引入的罚则。风险通常来自申请量考核指标、补贴驱动的申请行为，以及对外包撰写机构缺乏监督。
规划2026年9月1日前后的过渡。 该日期之前提交的请求适用旧办法，当日或之后提交的请求适用第八十五号令。对处于边界的案件，应权衡推荐意见与证据材料的就绪程度，与新制度更严格、更定向的适用标准之间的关系。
更广的政策背景
2026年7月29日，国务院新闻办公室举行新闻发布会，介绍”十五五”时期知识产权保护和运用情况。国家知识产权局表示，将实施更大力度的按需审查，综合运用优先审查、快速审查、延迟审查等”快慢结合”的审查模式。第八十五号令正是这一整体设计中的优先审查环节。此外，《中华人民共和国商标法》已于2026年修订，自2027年1月1日起施行。
相关阅读
可参阅本站入华专利申请路径概览（编号198）、外资企业知识产权维权与无效宣告策略（编号201）、商标注册与保护（编号203）。
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