China’s patent fast-track gets a 2026 reset: new Prioritised Examination Measures effective 1 September

2026-09-05 Patent / 专利

• The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the revised Measures for the Prioritised Examination of Patents (Order No. 85), adopted at its 4th bureau meeting on 16 July 2026 and effective from 1 September 2026, repealing the 2017 version (Order No. 76).
  国家知识产权局公布新修订《专利优先审查管理办法》（局令第85号）：2026年7月16日经第4次局务会议审议通过、7月28日公布，自2026年9月1日起施行，2017年版（局令第76号）同时废止。

• The scope of prioritised examination now covers invention applications in substantive examination that have not yet received a first office action, utility-model and design applications, and re-examination and invalidation cases — while fast-track channels via bilateral/multilateral agreements or IP protection centres are expressly excluded.
  优先审查适用范围涵盖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，以及复审案件和无效宣告案件；依据双边或多边协议开展优先审查、或经知识产权保护中心预审合格快速审查的，按有关规定处理，不适用本办法。

• Eligibility for priority centres on innovation value and transformation prospects: emerging and future industries or key-core-technology breakthroughs, industries encouraged by provincial or municipal governments, applicants already industrialising or ready to industrialise (or evidence that others are implementing the invention), first-filing-in-China applications later filed abroad with substantive-examination requests, and other cases of major national or public interest.
  优先审查的适格条件聚焦创新价值与转化前景：涉及新兴产业和未来产业或关键核心技术攻关；涉及省级或设区的市级人民政府重点鼓励的产业；申请人已产业化实施或已做好实施准备、或有证据证明他人正在实施；就相同主题首次在中国申请后又向其他国家或地区提出实质审查请求的；对国家利益或公共利益具有重大意义的其他情形。

• Reform highlights include tighter management with central-local co-ordination, quality-oriented handling that disciplines violation of good-faith principles, and procedure-level convenience: electronic XML filing, no extra fees for prioritised examination, and clarified processing rules.
  本次修改突出：强化央地协同、规范省级推荐管理；质量导向，对违反诚信原则行为设罚则；程序便利化——采用XML格式电子申请、优先审查不收取额外费用、优化办理手续。

• For foreign applicants, the key practical point is territorial eligibility: for applications and re-examination requests, the first applicant’s address must be within China (provincial IP offices recommend); overseas and Taiwan-China-region applicants requesting prioritised examination must show the application positively promotes the province’s industrial upgrading and technical iteration, and file in paper form where required.
  对外国申请人最关键的实际要点是地域适格：专利申请与复审案件请求优先审查，第一申请人地址须在中国境内（由省级知识产权局推荐）；境外及中国台湾地区申请人提出请求的，其专利申请应对本省产业升级、技术迭代有积极促进作用，且按规定以纸件方式提出。

China’s patent fast-track gets a 2026 reset: new Prioritised Examination Measures effective 1 September | 专利”快车道”2026版重启：新《专利优先审查管理办法》9月1日施行

Overview

On 28 July 2026, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) published the revised Measures for the Prioritised Examination of Patents (《专利优先审查管理办法》) as Order No. 85, adopted at the 4th CNIPA bureau meeting on 16 July 2026. The Measures took effect on 1 September 2026, replacing the 2017 version (Order No. 76). Prioritised examination is China’s formal fast-track within the ordinary examination system — distinct from the PPH-style channels under bilateral/multilateral agreements and from pre-examination-based fast channels at intellectual-property protection centres — and the revision rebalances eligibility, tightens management and modernises procedure. For foreign patent applicants with Chinese filings, the changes affect who can ask for the fast track, how the request is made, and what supporting evidence is expected.

What the revised scope covers

Under the new Measures, prioritised examination applies to:

• invention applications that are in substantive examination and have not yet received a first office action (首次处理, i.e. the examiner has begun examination and issued a notification);
• utility-model and design applications;
• re-examination cases for invention, utility-model and design patents; and
• invalidation cases for invention, utility-model and design patents.

Expressly outside the Measures are prioritised examination conducted under bilateral or multilateral agreements between CNIPA and foreign offices, and fast-track examination of applications that have passed pre-examination at a national IP-protection centre or rapid-rights-protection centre — those follow their own rules.

The five eligibility grounds

An applicant or re-examination requester may request prioritised examination where the application or case has significant innovation value and transformation prospects and falls under one of five categories:

1. Emerging and future industries, or key-core-technology breakthroughs (新兴产业和未来产业，或者关键核心技术攻关);
2. industries encouraged by a provincial or city-level government (省级或设区的市级人民政府重点鼓励的产业);
3. the applicant has already industrialised or prepared to industrialise, or there is evidence that others are implementing the invention;
4. the application was first filed in China and a substantive-examination request is later made in another country or region for the same subject matter (a Chinese priority-anchor case); and
5. other circumstances of major significance to national or public interests.

For invalidation cases, either the invalidation requester or the patentee may request prioritised examination in listed circumstances, including where the patent is involved in infringement disputes and a local IP administration or court is handling the matter.

What changed: three reform themes

1. Adjusted eligibility to serve national priorities. The revision sharpens the focus on high-quality applications in emerging and future industries, adapts the scope to the amended Patent Law and its implementing rules, clarifies circumstances in which prioritised examination will not be granted, and anchors the regime to supporting new-quality productive forces and an innovation-friendly business environment.

2. Full-lifecycle management with a quality orientation. Institutionally, the Measures strengthen central-local co-ordination: CNIPA manages prioritised examination nationwide, receives requests recommended by relevant State Council departments, and reinforces review-resource guarantees; provincial IP offices handle recommendation of requests in their regions and are guided to strengthen management of requesting entities and provide targeted services. In examination organisation, acceptance, review and examination stages are more tightly regulated to raise quality and efficiency. At the source, the Measures emphasise the technical-innovation and transformation value of prioritised cases, strengthen the service guarantee provided by patent agencies to requesting entities, and — notably — impose sanctions for conduct violating the principle of good faith, holding the quality bottom line.

3. Procedure-level convenience. Document requirements are streamlined to make it easier to submit requests; prioritised examination is confirmed to incur no additional fee; and processing rules address issues that practice had flagged, absorbing mature and effective existing approaches.

The filing mechanics

Requests are made electronically in XML format through the patent business-processing system (the relevant module of the system was upgraded online from 1 September 2026). For invention applications, the request must be accompanied by a statement of reasons and supporting documentation including, where applicable, the latest search report of the State Intellectual Property Office or a search report from a foreign office or international organisation, plus evidence of the status of the relevant technical field. Because prioritised examination compresses the examination timeline, the accompanying search report and prior-art material materially determine whether the case can proceed quickly once admitted.

Provincial IP offices make the recommendation for applications and re-examination cases whose first applicant is located in their province; CNIPA receives requests recommended by relevant State Council departments directly. All applicants, re-examination requesters or patentees must consent to the request. For invalidation cases, local IP administrations, courts and arbitration institutions may directly request prioritised examination from CNIPA for patents involved in their cases without provincial recommendation.

What this means for foreign applicants

• Territorial eligibility is the gate. For patent applications and re-examination cases, prioritised examination requires the first applicant’s address to be in China — the practical route for foreign companies is filing through their Chinese subsidiary, joint venture or licensee as first applicant. Overseas applicants without a Chinese address generally cannot use this fast track for ordinary applications; they instead rely on PPH-type channels or protection-centre pre-examination where applicable.
• A defined route for overseas and Taiwan-China-region applicants. The Fujian provincial IP authority’s guidance issued with the September 2026 implementation confirms that where overseas and Taiwan-China-region applicants do request prioritised examination, their applications must positively promote the province’s industrial upgrading and technical iteration and effectively lift regional technical capability, and the request must be submitted in paper form. This “contribution to local industry” test is the substantive threshold such applicants should prepare evidence for.
• First-filing-in-China strategy now links to speed. Category 4 explicitly rewards applicants who first file in China and then seek substantive examination abroad on the same subject matter — a structural incentive relevant to multinationals’ global filing strategies and to their China R&D centres.
• Good-faith discipline raises documentation standards. The new sanctions for violating good-faith principles mean requests must be supported by genuine evidence (industrialisation, infringement, or other use); speculative or mass requests designed only to jump the queue now carry reputational and procedural risk.
• Provincial recommendation is a real step. Because provincial IP offices recommend requests, engagement with the province where the Chinese entity is registered matters; provinces with strong innovation-support policies can be expected to prioritise high-value filings aligned with their encouraged industries.

Practical steps

• Map your China filings to the five eligibility grounds and identify which province will recommend each request.
• For overseas entities without a Chinese first applicant, confirm the fallback route (PPH, protection-centre pre-examination) and, where provincial prioritised examination is sought, prepare the industrial-upgrade and capability-lift evidence and expect paper filing.
• Verify that the application has not yet received a first office action before requesting prioritised examination; an application already under active examination is ineligible under the revised definition.
• Prepare the search-report material: a CNIPA or foreign/international search report strengthens the request.
• File electronically in XML via the patent business-processing system and watch provincial IP-office implementation guidance issued through late 2026.

Sources

• 国家知识产权局 — 专利优先审查管理办法（局令第85号，全文）: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/7/30/art_74_207457.html
• 福建省市场监督管理局（福建省知识产权局）— 关于新修订《专利优先审查管理办法》施行有关事项的提示: https://scjgj.fj.gov.cn/zw/tzgg/202609/t20260904_7209087.htm
• 央视新闻 — 国家知识产权局发布《专利优先审查管理办法》9月1日起施行: https://so.html5.qq.com/page/real/search_news?docid=70000021_2936a6b219783152

Related reading

• see also: how patents are examined and enforced in China for foreign filers (patent-prosecution-enforcement-china)
• see also: China’s IP protection centres and fast-track pre-examination routes (ip-protection-centre-fast-track)

专利”快车道”2026版重启：新《专利优先审查管理办法》9月1日施行

概述

2026年7月28日，国家知识产权局公布新修订《专利优先审查管理办法》（局令第85号）。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，2017年版《专利优先审查管理办法》（局令第76号）同时废止。优先审查是中国普通审查体系内的正式快车道——与依据双边或多边协议开展的PPH类通道、以及经知识产权保护中心预审的快速审查通道相区别——本次修订重新校准了适格条件、收紧管理并现代化了程序。对持有中国专利申请的外国申请人而言，变化影响谁能申请快车道、如何提出请求以及需要准备哪些佐证。

修订后的适用范围

依据新办法，优先审查适用于：

• 发明专利申请：处于实质审查阶段且未作出首次处理的（首次处理指审查员已开始审查并发出通知书）；
• 实用新型和外观设计专利申请；
• 发明、实用新型和外观设计专利申请的复审案件；
• 发明、实用新型和外观设计专利的无效宣告案件。

明确不适用本办法的是：依据国家知识产权局与其他国家或地区专利审查机构签订的双边或多边协议开展的优先审查，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开展的快速审查——这些按其规定处理。

五项适格情形

具有重要创新价值以及转化运用前景的专利申请、复审案件，符合下列情形之一的，专利申请人或复审请求人可以请求优先审查：

1. 涉及新兴产业和未来产业，或者关键核心技术攻关；
2. 涉及省级或者设区的市级人民政府重点鼓励的产业；
3. 专利申请人或复审请求人已经产业化实施或者已经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；
4. 就相同主题首次在中国提出专利申请后，又向其他国家或地区提出实质审查请求的该中国专利申请（以中国为优先权锚点的案件）；
5. 对国家利益或者公共利益具有重大意义的其他情形。

无效宣告案件方面，涉案专利发生侵权纠纷、当事人已请求地方知识产权局处理或向人民法院起诉等情形的，无效宣告请求人或专利权人均可请求优先审查。

三大改革主题

一、调整适格条件，突出国家需求。 修订进一步聚焦服务新兴产业和未来产业领域的高质量申请；根据新修改的专利法及其实施细则调整适用范围；明确不予优先审查的情形；把制度锚定在支撑新质生产力发展、优化营商环境上。

二、全流程管理、强化质量导向。 制度上强化央地协同：国家知识产权局负责全国管理、受理并审核请求、接收国务院有关主管部门推荐的请求、加强审查资源保障；省级知识产权局负责本区域内请求的推荐，并被引导加强对请求主体的管理和精准服务。审查组织上，受理、审核、审查各环节更加规范，提高审查质量与效率。源头质量上，突出优先审查案件的技术创新和转化运用价值，强化专利代理机构对请求主体的服务保障，并首次对违反诚信原则行为实施相应罚则，筑牢质量底线。

三、优化程序与标准，提升用户体验。 完善现有技术材料提交要求，便利申请人提交请求；明确优先审查服务不收取额外费用；针对实践中反映集中的问题优化具体操作，充分吸纳成熟有效做法。

申请机制

请求须通过专利业务办理系统以XML格式电子提交（2026年9月1日起系统相关模块升级上线）。发明专利申请请求优先审查的，应附理由说明与支持性文件，包括（如适用）国家知识产权局最新检索报告或外国/国际检索报告，以及相关技术领域状况的证明。由于优先审查压缩审查周期，检索报告与现有技术材料在请求获准后能否快速推进起决定性作用。

申请与复审案件的推荐由第一申请人所在地省级知识产权局作出；国家知识产权局直接接收国务院有关主管部门推荐的请求。所有专利申请人、复审请求人或专利权人须一致同意提出请求。无效宣告案件方面，地方知识产权局、人民法院、仲裁机构可直接就涉案专利向国家知识产权局提出优先审查请求，无需省级推荐。

对外国申请人的意义

• 地域适格是门槛。 专利与复审案件请求优先审查，要求第一申请人地址在中国境内——外国公司的现实路径是以中国子公司、合资企业或被许可方作为第一申请人提交。没有中国地址的境外申请人通常无法为普通申请使用此快车道，只能视情形依托PPH类通道或保护中心预审。
• 境外及中国台湾地区申请人有明确通道。 福建省知识产权局随2026年9月实施发布的办理提示确认：境外及中国台湾地区申请人请求优先审查的，其专利申请应对本省产业升级、技术迭代具有积极促进作用、能有效带动辖区技术水平提升，且应当以纸件方式提出请求。”对本地产业有贡献”是此类申请人应备好证据的实质性门槛。
• “先在中国申请”策略与提速挂钩。 第4类情形明确奖励先在中国首次申请、随后就相同主题在境外寻求实质审查的申请人——这是对跨国企业全球申请策略及其在华研发中心的结构性激励。
• 诚信罚则提高文件标准。 违反诚信原则的新罚则意味着请求须有真实证据支撑（产业化、侵权或其他实施证据）；仅为了插队而进行的投机性或批量请求将面临程序与声誉风险。
• 省级推荐是实打实的一步。 由于请求由省级知识产权局推荐，与中国实体注册地省份的沟通至关重要；创新支持政策强的省份可望优先推荐与其鼓励产业一致的高价值申请。

实务建议

• 把中国申请对照五项适格情形逐一梳理，确定每项请求将由哪个省份推荐。
• 无中国第一申请人的境外主体：确认备用通道（PPH、保护中心预审）；确需争取省级优先审查的，准备产业升级与能力提升证据并预期纸件提交。
• 请求前确认申请尚未收到首次审查意见——按修订后的定义，已进入实质审查状态的申请不再适格。
• 准备检索报告材料：国家知识产权局或外国/国际检索报告可增强请求分量。
• 通过专利业务办理系统以XML格式电子提交，并跟踪2026年下半年各省知识产权局陆续发布的实施指引。

来源

• 国家知识产权局 — 专利优先审查管理办法（局令第85号，全文）: https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2026/7/30/art_74_207457.html
• 福建省市场监督管理局（福建省知识产权局）— 关于新修订《专利优先审查管理办法》施行有关事项的提示: https://scjgj.fj.gov.cn/zw/tzgg/202609/t20260904_7209087.htm
• 央视新闻 — 国家知识产权局发布《专利优先审查管理办法》9月1日起施行: https://so.html5.qq.com/page/real/search_news?docid=70000021_2936a6b219783152

相关阅读

• 见：外国申请人的中国专利审查与维权（patent-prosecution-enforcement-china）
• 见：中国知识产权保护中心与预审快车道（ip-protection-centre-fast-track）