The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) have jointly decided to extend their Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program for an infinite period of time from November 1, 2023. The established Guidance of CNIPA-SAIP PPH Request remains controlling the pertinent requirements and procedures governing applicants' PPH requests.

    PPH is a fast track linking patent examination duties of different countries or regions, allowing patent examination authorities to speed up patent examination by work sharing. Since the initiation of the first PPH pilot program in November 2011, the CNIPA has built PPH ties with patent examination authorities of 32 countries or regions.

    The extension of the CNIPA-SAIP PPH pilot program will continuously advance the two offices' cooperation in patent examination, provide better services to both Chinese and Saudi innovators and speed up patent examination process.

    Source:CNIPA