Short answer: If you are a company registered outside China, or a foreign inventor with no habitual residence in China, and you want a Chinese patent, the first thing to accept is this: you cannot file it yourself. Article 18 of the PRC Patent Law makes that mandatory — a foreigner, foreign enterprise or other foreign organisation without habitual residence or place of business in China must appoint a patent agency established in accordance with law. From that rule a question keeps coming up in practice: since I must use a Chinese agency anyway, can I make China my first filing? The answer has two layers. In law, yes. But there is a second, harder limit that has nothing to do with filing: you cannot use China as a PCT receiving Office. Separate the two, and a foreign applicant has exactly two routes into China — the Paris Convention route and the PCT national phase. This guide follows those two routes.
1. Two different questions: not being able to file yourself is not the same as not being able to file first in China
These two questions are routinely conflated, but they are governed by different rules and the answers are opposite.
Table 1 — Two different restrictions
| Question | Answer | Basis |
| Can a foreign applicant file in China for an invention never applied for in any other country (i.e. a Chinese first filing)? | Yes, in law | Article 18 of the Patent Law sets only the qualification test — national treatment under a bilateral agreement, a treaty or reciprocity. It imposes no requirement of an earlier application anywhere. Priority is a right, not an obligation. |
| Can a foreign applicant file it by itself? | No | Article 18: a foreign subject without habitual residence or place of business in China must appoint a patent agency established in accordance with law. |
| Can a foreign applicant use China as the PCT receiving Office? | No | CNIPA as receiving Office accepts international applications only from Chinese nationals or residents (including foreigners with long-term residence in China and foreign legal persons registered in China; where there are several applicants, at least one must qualify). |
The real obstacles are therefore not “you may not file” but “only a Chinese agency may file for you”, and “you may not start a PCT application at CNIPA”. The first is an agency requirement and is entirely curable. The second is absolute.
1.1 In practice, almost nobody does it
Legally possible is not the same as commercially sensible. Foreign applicants in practice always file first at home or in a regional office and then come to China, for economic rather than legal reasons:
- Cost sequencing. A cheap first filing at home (a US provisional, a UK priority application) fixes the priority date for very little money; a year later you decide whether to go to China, Japan or Europe. Filing first in China means paying for the Chinese translation and agency work up front, and that Chinese text then becomes the earlier application for every later national filing.
- Search-based screening. The search report from the home office or the PCT international phase is what tells you whether China is worth the money. A Chinese first filing gives that screening up.
- A built-in decision window. The 12-month priority year is itself the market assessment period. File first, decide later is the industry norm.
- No institutional incentive. Only CNIPA-as-receiving-Office brings exemption from the PCT filing fee and the substantive examination fee. A foreign applicant cannot access it, so starting a PCT case at CNIPA is institutionally closed to them.
One exception that has to be stated: where the invention was actually made in China and the applicant is its Chinese subsidiary — a Chinese entity, and therefore eligible as a receiving Office applicant — filing first in China, or starting the PCT case at CNIPA, is entirely normal. Saying “a foreign applicant cannot file first in China” would mislead in that situation. The reverse warning also applies: under Article 20, an invention made in China must clear the confidentiality examination before any foreign filing (section 9).
So the two routes are the whole picture. Either file first at home and come to China within 12 months (6 months for designs) under the Paris Convention; or file a PCT application at home and enter the Chinese national phase within 30 months (32 on payment of a surcharge). Both end in the same place — appointing a Chinese patent agency.
2. The two routes side by side
Table 2 — Paris Convention route vs PCT national phase
| Paris Convention route | PCT national phase | |
| Starting point | A first filing in any Paris Union country, giving you an application date | An international application filed at any PCT receiving Office (your home office, the EPO, the IB — but not CNIPA) |
| Deadline to enter China | 12 months from the priority date (inventions, utility models); 6 months for designs | 30 months from the earliest priority date; 32 months on payment of a CNY 1,000 surcharge |
| Language timing | The complete Chinese text must be filed with the application — there is no file-foreign-translate-later option | Entry may be requested in any PCT language; a Chinese translation of the description and claims is nevertheless required to complete entry |
| International phase | None. No international search, no international publication, no single opportunity to amend | Yes. International search report, international publication, optional preliminary examination; Article 19 and Article 34 amendments carry into the national phase |
| Amendment opportunities | No coordinated amendment before entry; after entry, Article 33 applies | Translations of Article 19 / 34 amendments may be filed within 2 months of entry |
| Cost structure | Each country entered is a separate full application; fees are paid per jurisdiction | One international-phase fee covers all designated states; national-phase fees are then paid per country |
| When it fits | Few target countries, settled technology, earlier filing already made and window still open | Many target countries; time needed to assess the market and budget |
Three dimensions determine the choice: time, money and information. The Paris Convention route has no international phase — each country entered is a complete application and the fees are paid per jurisdiction. That saves the international-phase outlay at the cost of a 12-month (6-month for designs) window. PCT requires an international-phase fee up front, but extends the deadline for entering China from 12 months to 30 and comes with an international search report — often the only basis on which a foreign applicant can judge whether the technology is worth a Chinese filing at all.
For a foreign applicant, though, the choice is frequently not a choice but a fact: the home application was filed more than a year ago and no PCT was started, so the 12-month window is usually already closed. At that point there are only two possibilities — request restoration of priority within two months of expiry on good grounds (effectively up to about 14 months), or file afresh in China and lose the original filing date, while facing whatever you have yourself disclosed in the meantime as prior art. Which is why the first thing to do on any inbound case is always the same: confirm the priority date and count the days remaining.
2.1 How the periods are counted
The 12 months run from the day after the priority date and expire on the corresponding day of the twelfth month. A priority date of 15 March 2026 therefore expires on 15 March 2027; where the corresponding day does not exist (for example, a priority date of 29 February 2028: February 2029 has no 29th), the period expires on the last day of that month, i.e. 28 February 2029. The PCT 30 months are counted in the same way from the earliest priority date.
Three dates are regularly confused, and the confusion is the single most frequent source of error on inbound files:
Table 3 — Three dates that get mixed up
| Date | What it is | What it governs |
| Priority date | The filing date of the first application | The starting point for every period; also the reference date for novelty |
| Deadline for entering China | Expiry of 12 / 30 / 32 months | Missing it means losing the case (no grace on the Paris route; 30 → 32 months on payment of CNY 1,000) |
| Chinese filing date (entry date) | The date the Chinese application is actually filed or entry completed | 18-month publication, the 3-year deadline to request examination, the annuity anniversary |
One exception worth memorising separately: the three-year period for requesting substantive examination runs from the filing date (or the earliest priority date where priority is claimed), not from the Chinese filing date. Where an international application enters China 22 months after the priority date, only about six months remain to request examination — not three years.
3. Whom to appoint, and how to verify them
Article 18 requires a “patent agency established in accordance with law” — not a consulting firm, an IP services company, or the China liaison office of a foreign law firm. There is one test: does it hold a CNIPA agency code?
The code is a five-digit number allocated by CNIPA and searchable in the official register of patent agencies by name or code, together with the list of licensed agents practising there, the date of establishment and any disciplinary record. Hefei Zhihaiyida Patent Agency holds code 34408. Checking that five-digit number against the contract, the power of attorney and the official filing receipt is the single most effective safeguard against an unlicensed intermediary.
Table 4 — Three kinds of provider
| Type | Agency code | Can it file as the appointed agency? | Notes |
| Patent agency (partnership / limited company) | Yes, five digits | Yes | The only lawful vehicle. An individual agent may not take instructions privately; practice must be in the agency’s name. |
| IP services / consulting company | No | No | Can handle searches, translation and formalities outsourcing, but cannot file in its own name. |
| Foreign law firm or its China office | No | No | Usually refers the case to a Chinese patent agency, which files as the appointed agency. |
3.1 Establishing the appointment
Two documents fix the relationship: a written engagement contract (scope, fees, confidentiality) and a power of attorney filed with CNIPA, signed and sealed by the applicant — by all applicants where there are several.
The question foreign applicants ask first is whether the power of attorney needs notarisation or legalisation. Generally it does not. A power of attorney filed for a Chinese patent application is not required to be notarised or legalised by CNIPA; signature by a person with authority to bind the applicant and the company seal are sufficient. A foreign-language power of attorney must be accompanied by a Chinese translation. Notarisation tends to be required only in the rare case where the signatory’s authority itself is in dispute. This differs markedly from practice in some countries.
Powers may be given case by case, or as a general power of attorney. For a foreign company with a steady flow of Chinese filings, a general power with a defined scope removes a great deal of paperwork from every individual case — which matters most when both routes are running in parallel.
Changing agency is free of official fees. The CNY 200 fee for recording a change applies only to changes of applicant, patentee or inventor; a change of agency or of the appointment relationship currently carries no fee.
4. The Paris Convention route: what to do, in order
This is the simpler procedure and the least forgiving on timing — there is no file-now-translate-later room at all. Six steps complete the route.
Table 5 — The Paris Convention route, step by step
| Step | What to do | When |
| 1 | Confirm the priority date, work back to expiry of the 12 months (6 for designs) and agree the working days left with the agency | First thing on receipt of the case |
| 2 | Complete the Chinese text (description, claims, abstract, figure legends) and have the technical staff check the key terminology | Before the Chinese filing date |
| 3 | Declare the priority claim in the request, stating the country, date and number of the earlier application | On filing |
| 4 | File a copy of the earlier application certified by the receiving office (not required where the earlier application was filed with CNIPA) | Within 3 months of the Chinese filing date |
| 5 | Pay the filing fee, the publication printing fee (inventions only), the priority claim fee (CNY 80 per claim) and any surcharges | On filing |
| 6 | Inventions: request substantive examination and pay CNY 2,500 | Within 3 years of the earliest priority date |
Step 2 is where this route actually bites. On the PCT route you can request entry in English and file the Chinese translation within the period; on the Paris route the application must be complete in Chinese from the outset, and there is no procedure for adding a translation afterwards. So “is 12 months enough?” is answered half by the drafting calendar and half by the translator’s.
The 2024 Regulations added a rescue mechanism: where the 12 months (designs excepted) have been missed on good grounds, restoration of priority may be requested within two months of expiry, effectively up to about 14 months. It is a rescue channel, not a planning assumption.
Multiple priorities in a single Chinese application are common — a base disclosure filed in Japan, an improvement filed later in the United States, both claimed on entry. The fee is per claim. Partial priority then has to be watched: a claim whose subject-matter is not disclosed in any of the earlier applications does not enjoy priority, and its novelty is judged as at the actual Chinese filing date. That is a drafting judgement, not a formality.
5. The PCT national phase: what to do, in order
The value of PCT is that it stretches the decision from 12 months to 30 and comes with a search report. The price is the international-phase outlay and a set of documentary obligations on entry.
Table 6 — PCT entry into China: periods and documents
| Item | Period / requirement | Consequence of missing it |
| Requesting entry | Within 30 months of the earliest priority date; extendable to 32 months on payment of a CNY 1,000 surcharge | Rights lost absolutely; no restoration |
| Chinese translation | Chinese translations of the description and claims are required to complete entry | Entry is not completed |
| Priority claim fee | Within 2 months of the entry date | Priority deemed not claimed |
| Translations of PCT Article 19 / 34 amendments | Within 2 months of the entry date | The amended text is disregarded |
| Copy of the earlier application | Waived where already furnished in the international phase | — |
| Power of attorney | No notarisation or legalisation; may be filed later in response to a formal notice | Dealt with under the notice |
| Request for substantive examination | Within 3 years of the earliest priority date | Application deemed withdrawn |
Fees payable on entry are the filing fee (CNY 900), the publication printing fee (CNY 50), claims surcharges (CNY 150 per claim from the eleventh), description surcharges (CNY 50 per page from page 31, figures included) and the priority claim fee (CNY 80 per claim). The substantive examination fee of CNY 2,500 may be paid later within the three-year period; it does not have to accompany entry.
Claims surcharges are calculated on the claims of the international application as originally filed; deleting claims afterwards does not reduce the fee. Quote on the original count.
5.1 One structural advantage, and one rule that no longer exists
Where CNIPA was the receiving Office and carried out the international search, the filing fee and application surcharges are exempt on entry into the national phase; where CNIPA issued the search report or the international preliminary report on patentability, the CNY 2,500 examination fee is waived. But CNIPA as receiving Office accepts applications only from Chinese nationals or residents, so a purely foreign applicant cannot use this — unless it files jointly with an eligible entity in China.
One point to clear up: the former provision allowing a 20% reduction of the examination fee where the EPO, the JPO or the Swedish PRV had carried out the search was deleted by the 2023 revision of the Examination Guidelines, in force since 20 January 2024. Only a CNIPA search report now brings the exemption. If a quotation still calculates the examination fee at CNY 2,000, it is based on superseded materials.
6. What to send the agency
6.1 Three types of patent — choose correctly
Table 7 — The boundaries between the three patent types
| Invention | Utility model | Design | |
| Term | 20 years from the filing date | 10 years from the filing date | 15 years from the filing date |
| Protects | Products, processes, methods, compositions, systems | Only the shape or structure of a product, or a combination of both | The appearance of a product; partial designs since 2021 |
| Methods / software / formulations | Yes | No | No |
| Substantive examination | Yes; must be requested within 3 years of the priority date | No — formal examination only | No — formal examination only |
| Grant timeline (2025) | 15 months average examination cycle for inventions | Months | Months |
The commonest mistake is filing a method, a software flow or a formulation as a utility model. The 2024 Regulations also brought “obvious lack of inventiveness” into the formal examination of utility models and designs, so the old assumption that a utility model will be granted whatever its quality no longer holds.
6.2 Information to provide at first contact
The list below is what an agency needs before it can quote with confidence or identify the route.
Table 8 — What to prepare at first contact
| Item | Requirement | Note |
| Technical disclosure | A description-grade account of the invention, drawings where available, key parameters and worked examples | May be in any language; the agency translates and redrafts |
| Applicant details | Full name in Chinese and English, address, registration number / identity document | The name must match the home registration exactly; it cannot be changed freely later |
| Inventor details | Name in Chinese and English, address, nationality | Inventors must be natural persons; the order of naming affects later reward and ownership disputes |
| Priority and earlier filing | Country, filing date and number of the first application; whether a PCT application has been filed | This alone determines the route — Paris or PCT |
| Search or examination results | Home or international-phase search report and written opinion | Assists Chinese examination and the grant assessment |
| Confidentiality examination facts | Whether the invention was made in China (see section 9) | If Chinese R&D was involved, the confidentiality examination comes first |
6.3 Translation is not a clerical step
Every document filed in China must be in Chinese, and once filed the text can only be amended within the limits of Article 33 — no amendment may go beyond the scope of what the description and claims as filed disclose. A mistranslated technical term, or a dropped embodiment, may therefore be permanently irreparable in China and will directly narrow the scope of the claims.
On the PCT route there is one technical escape: under the 2024 Regulations a translation error in the description, claims or drawings may be corrected on payment of a correction fee (CNY 300 at formal examination, CNY 1,200 at substantive examination), but the correction remains subject to the same prohibition on going beyond the original international application.
7. What it costs: official fees, annuities and the truth about fee reductions
The table below sets out CNIPA’s current fees in RMB (the schedule in force since August 2024). Agency fees are additional and vary with technical complexity, translation volume and the number of claims; they are usually well above the official fees.
Table 9 — Principal official fees (CNY)
| Item | Invention | Utility model | Design |
| Filing fee | 900 | 500 | 500 |
| Publication printing fee | 50 | — | — |
| Claims surcharge (from the 11th claim) | 150 / claim | 150 / claim | — |
| Description surcharge (from page 31, figures included) | 50 / page | 50 / page | — |
| Priority claim fee | 80 / claim | 80 / claim | 80 / claim |
| Late entry surcharge (30 → 32 months) | 1,000 | 1,000 | — |
| Substantive examination fee | 2,500 | — | — |
| On grant (registration formalities) | Current-year annuity only | Current-year annuity only | Current-year annuity only |
Three fees no longer exist, yet still appear widely in quotations and older articles: the patent registration fee (formerly CNY 200 for an invention, CNY 150 for a utility model or design) and the announcement printing fee (formerly CNY 50, charged on grant publication — distinct from the publication printing fee of CNY 50 that remains in force for invention applications), both abolished on 1 August 2018; and the certificate stamp duty (formerly CNY 5), collection of which ceased on 1 July 2022. Registration formalities on grant therefore require only the annuity for the year of grant. Note also that the publication printing fee exists only for inventions — utility models and designs are not published on filing, so the filing-stage fee is simply CNY 500; an invention application costs CNY 950 at filing, with the CNY 2,500 examination fee paid separately.
7.1 Annuities are the real long-term cost
Table 10 — Invention patent annuity scale (CNY per year)
| Patent year | 1–3 | 4–6 | 7–9 | 10–12 | 13–15 | 16–20 |
| Amount | 900 | 1,200 | 2,000 | 4,000 | 6,000 | 8,000 |
Annuities are counted from the month and day of the filing date, not from the grant date — the commonest misunderstanding among foreign clients. They fall due from the year of grant, with a six-month grace period; each month of delay adds 5% of that year’s annuity (the first month is free, capped at 25%). Most Chinese patents that are abandoned die at two steps: year 10, where the fee jumps to CNY 4,000, and year 16, where it jumps to CNY 8,000. The keep-or-drop decision belongs before those points, not after the payment reminder arrives.
7.2 Fee reductions: where a foreign applicant actually stands
This is the most frequently asked question and the one most often answered loosely. There are three layers.
- The scheme does not exclude foreign subjects. The conditions set by the Measures on the Reduction of Patent Fees (Cai Shui [2016] No. 78) as adjusted by Announcement No. 316 are: individuals with average monthly income below CNY 5,000 (CNY 60,000 a year), enterprises whose taxable income did not exceed CNY 1 million in the previous year, and public institutions, social organisations and non-profit research institutions. The reduction is 85% for a single applicant and 70% where several applicants each qualify.
- But a fee-reduction record must be established first, and that requires supporting documents: for individuals, an income certificate from the employer or a hardship certificate from the civil affairs department or township government at the place of household registration or habitual residence; for enterprises, the PRC enterprise income tax return for the previous year. That documentary base is Chinese income and Chinese tax, which an enterprise registered abroad and not paying PRC income tax cannot produce.
- The conclusion: a foreign subject generally cannot complete the record, so the official fees must be paid in full. Only two narrow doors exist — a foreign individual working abroad may submit a foreign income certificate with a Chinese translation, examined case by case by the receiving division (and only if monthly income can be shown not to exceed CNY 5,000); and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan applicants holding a mainland income or hardship certificate.
Two workable structures exist. First, let the Chinese subsidiary or joint venture file in its own name: if its taxable income is below CNY 1 million it can claim the 85% reduction independently. There is a trap here — where the foreign parent is a co-applicant, it does not qualify, and under the final paragraph of Article 3 of Cai Shui [2016] No. 78 each applicant must qualify separately, so the whole application loses the reduction. The structure has to be settled before filing; it cannot be fixed afterwards.
Second, open licensing. Under Article 51(2) of the Patent Law and Article 87 of the Regulations, a patentee that declares an open licence and records the implementation contract enjoys a 15% annuity reduction during the licence period. It does not depend on the applicant’s identity or income, requires no fee-reduction record, is available to foreign patentees, and is not limited to the 10 years from grant. The cost is that anyone may take a licence on the declared terms, so no exclusive licence can be granted meanwhile.
Note also that the PCT fee exemptions and the fee-reduction scheme are two different mechanisms: the former does not depend on the applicant’s identity at all, only on the searching authority (section 5).
7.3 Timeline
CNIPA reported an average examination cycle of 15 months for invention patents in 2025. The published figure does not identify its starting point, so it should not be read as “granted within 15 months of filing”. Utility models and designs undergo formal examination only and are usually concluded within months. Where time is short, PPH, prioritised examination or deferred examination can be considered, but each has its own conditions and needs planning before filing.
8. The periods that actually decide the case
Table 11 — Key periods (invention entering via PCT)
| Item | Period | Consequence of expiry |
| Entry into the national phase | 30 months from the earliest priority date; 32 months on payment of CNY 1,000 | Rights lost absolutely; no restoration |
| Entry under the Paris route | 12 months from the priority date; 6 months for designs | Restoration of priority possible within 2 months of expiry on good grounds |
| Priority claim fee | 2 months from the entry date (PCT) | Priority deemed not claimed |
| Translations of Article 19 / 34 amendments | 2 months from the entry date | The amended text is disregarded |
| Request for substantive examination | 3 years from the filing date (or the earliest priority date) | Application deemed withdrawn |
| Responding to examination reports | As specified in the notice: commonly 4 months for the first substantive report, 2 months thereafter; 2 months for utility models and designs | Deemed withdrawn; extension possible (CNY 300 per month first time, CNY 2,000 thereafter) |
| Annuities after grant | Annually, before the anniversary of the filing date; 6-month grace period | Patent lapses from the date the fee fell due |
| Restoration of rights | 2 months from notification of the loss of rights | Rights lost absolutely |
Two traps foreign applicants almost always fall into. First, the three-year period for requesting examination runs from the earliest priority date, not from entry. An international application entering China 22 months after the priority date leaves about six months to request examination. Second, electronic service no longer carries the 15-day mailing presumption: under the 2024 Regulations service takes effect on the day the document enters the electronic system the party has consented to. CNIPA now serves electronically as a matter of principle, so the time actually available to respond is up to two weeks shorter than it used to be — and on a cross-border, cross-language file those two weeks are often the difference between a timely and a late response.
Restoration of rights has its own counting trap: the two months for a restoration request on good grounds run from receipt of the CNIPA notification (the deemed-withdrawal notice), not from expiry of the response period that was missed. Foreign associates routinely calculate “expiry plus two months”; that is a working assumption only. The restoration fee is CNY 1,000.
The 2024 Regulations added two further tools worth building into the deadline plan: restoration of priority (within two months of expiry, on good grounds) and the addition or correction of a priority claim (within 16 months of the priority date or 4 months of the filing date, whichever is later, provided at least one priority was claimed at filing).
9. The requirement most often overlooked: the confidentiality examination
Article 20 of the Patent Law requires that any invention or utility model made in China be submitted to the patent administration department of the State Council for confidentiality examination before a foreign application is filed. Failure to do so means no patent is granted for that invention in China.
The provision turns on where the invention was made, not on the applicant’s seat or the inventors’ nationality. It is triggered where R&D is carried out by a Chinese subsidiary, by a Chinese joint-venture partner or a commissioned team, where the crucial experiments were run in a Chinese laboratory, or where the inventive concept was formed in China and filed abroad.
The mirror-image error is commoner among foreign applicants: the invention was made in China, but the home application was filed first and priority is then claimed in China. Even with impeccable Chinese formalities, the invention may be unpatentable in China for want of the confidentiality examination. Where any part of the R&D chain runs through China, tell the agency before any foreign filing.
One practical convenience: filing a PCT application with CNIPA is treated as a request for confidentiality examination at the same time. Under the 2024 Regulations the periods are two months for notification and four months for a decision, extendable by two months in complex cases.
10. Ten practical traps
- Filing a method, software or a formulation as a utility model. A utility model protects only the shape or structure of a product; a method claim will be refused at formal examination.
- Assuming the three-year examination period runs from entry into China. It runs from the earliest priority date.
- Expecting to file in a foreign language and add a Chinese translation later on the Paris route. The application must be complete in Chinese from the outset.
- Missing the priority claim fee. Two months after PCT entry; late payment means the priority is deemed not claimed, which affects both the examination deadline and the novelty assessment.
- Joint naming that destroys a fee reduction. A foreign parent filing jointly with a Chinese subsidiary that would otherwise qualify means no reduction for the whole application.
- Treating the grant date as the annuity anniversary. It is the filing date.
- Assuming a patent can be renewed. China offers patent term compensation only, with no renewal; compensated years carry an annuity of CNY 8,000.
- Drafting too many claims. China charges CNY 150 per claim from the eleventh, and on PCT entry the count is taken from the international application as originally filed — deleting claims later does not reduce it.
- Leaving translation to non-technical translators without review. Translation errors may be permanently irreparable and directly narrow the claims.
- Ignoring the effect of electronic service on response periods. Periods run from the date of the notice, not from “notice date plus 15 days”.
11. From decision to filing
Table 12 — Action list
| Stage | Action | Output |
| 1. Fix the route | Confirm the priority date and whether a PCT application exists; count back the days remaining (12 / 30 / 32 months); establish whether the invention was made in China | Route and deadline schedule |
| 2. Choose the agency | Verify the five-digit agency code in the CNIPA register; confirm a licensed agent in the relevant technical field; confirm whether the quote covers translation and responses to examination reports | Agency appointed; engagement contract and power of attorney signed |
| 3. Assemble the file | Provide the disclosure, applicant and inventor details, earlier filing data and search results per Table 8; settle the patent type | Complete disclosure package |
| 4. Check the fees | Verify the official fees against Table 9, including surcharge counts and page counts; confirm whether any fee reduction applies (generally not for foreign subjects); consider open licensing | Fee confirmation |
If one sentence is to be kept, it is this: there are only two routes into China and they end at the same place — a Chinese patent agency holding a five-digit code. What decides whether a case survives is rarely the choice of agency; it is the habit of reasoning about Chinese deadlines from the instincts of another system. The examination period runs from the priority date; the annuity anniversary is the filing date; the Paris route has no late translation; a foreign subject cannot obtain a fee reduction. All four run against the practice in many countries, and all four are checked on every file.
12. Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign applicant make a first filing in China?
In law, yes. Article 18 of the Patent Law sets only a qualification test — national treatment under an agreement, treaty or reciprocity — and imposes no requirement of an earlier application; priority is a right, not an obligation. The filing must, however, be made by a Chinese patent agency (Article 18). In practice almost nobody does it, because filing first at home fixes the priority date at lower cost, produces a search result and preserves a 12-month decision window.
If a first filing in China is possible, why does this guide speak of only two routes?
Because the two routes describe where virtually every real case comes from: a home first filing followed by the Paris Convention, or a home PCT application followed by the national phase. A Chinese first filing is procedurally available but gives up the priority year, the search-based screening and the cost sequencing — and cannot be used to start a PCT case. A foreign company building a portfolio in several countries will almost never choose it.
Can a foreign applicant use China as the PCT receiving Office?
No. CNIPA as receiving Office accepts international applications only from Chinese nationals or residents, which includes Chinese citizens, foreigners with long-term residence in China and foreign legal persons registered in China; where there are several applicants, at least one must qualify. A foreign subject must therefore file the international application at its home office, the EPO or the International Bureau, and enter China afterwards.
We are a Chinese subsidiary and the invention was made in China. Can we file first in China or start a PCT case at CNIPA?
Yes. A Chinese subsidiary is a Chinese entity, eligible as a receiving Office applicant, and may act for itself without triggering the mandatory appointment rule. But if a foreign application follows, the confidentiality examination under Article 20 must come first, failing which no patent is granted in China for that invention. Note also that to obtain a fee reduction the qualifying Chinese entity should file alone; joint naming with a foreign parent defeats it.
Paris Convention route or PCT — how do I choose?
Look at the number of target countries and the state of the technology. One to three countries, settled technology, earlier filing and window still open: take the Paris route, which avoids the international-phase fees and is quicker. Many countries, or time needed to assess the market and budget: take PCT, which extends the deadline for entering China from 12 months to 30 and brings an international search report. Very often there is no choice — where the home application is more than a year old with no PCT, the 12-month window is usually closed, leaving restoration of priority within two months of expiry (up to about 14 months) or a fresh Chinese filing that loses the original date.
On the Paris route, can I file in English and add the Chinese translation later?
No. The Paris route requires the application to be complete in Chinese from the outset; there is no procedure for later adding a translation. This differs from PCT entry, where entry may be requested in any PCT language — but even there the Chinese translation of the description and claims is required to complete entry.
Does the power of attorney need notarisation or legalisation?
For a Chinese patent application CNIPA does not generally require notarisation or legalisation of the power of attorney; signature by a person with authority and the company seal are sufficient, with a Chinese translation where the document is in a foreign language. Notarisation tends to be called for only where the signatory’s authority is itself in issue.
Can we work only with our home law firm and never deal with the Chinese agency?
Yes. The usual pattern is that you instruct your home firm, which instructs a Chinese patent agency that files as the appointed agency. The advantage is a single language and a familiar workflow; the cost is an extra layer of fees and information loss, and deadlines relayed at second hand. For technically complex cases or long-term annuity management, dealing with the Chinese agency directly is usually more controllable.
How long does a Chinese patent take?
CNIPA reported an average examination cycle of 15 months for invention patents in 2025; utility models and designs, examined only as to form, are usually concluded within months. The published figure does not state its starting point, so it should not be read as a guaranteed 15 months from filing. PPH and prioritised examination can shorten the invention timeline.
Can a foreign applicant obtain China’s fee reduction?
Generally not. A fee-reduction record requires Chinese income or a PRC enterprise income tax return, which an enterprise registered abroad and not taxed in China cannot produce. Two alternatives exist: let a qualifying Chinese subsidiary file in its own name (every applicant must qualify separately), or record an open-licence implementation contract, which brings a 15% annuity reduction during the licence period regardless of the patentee’s identity.
When do annuities start and what happens if they are not paid?
Annuities fall due from the year of grant; the current-year annuity is paid with the registration formalities and thereafter before the anniversary of the filing date. The anniversary is the filing date, not the grant date. There is a six-month grace period at 5% of that year’s annuity per month of delay (first month free, capped at 25%); after that the patent lapses from the date the fee fell due, and restoration may be requested within two months of the lapse notice (CNY 1,000).
Part of our R&D was carried out in a Chinese laboratory. Is that a problem?
Yes. Article 20 requires confidentiality examination before any foreign filing for an invention or utility model made in China, and failure means no patent in China. The test is where the invention was made, not the applicant’s nationality or seat. Filing a PCT application with CNIPA is treated as a request for that examination.
Disclaimer
The legal basis for this guide is the PRC Patent Law (2020 revision), the Implementing Regulations (in force 20 January 2024) and the Examination Guidelines (2023 revision); fee amounts are CNIPA’s current published schedule, and the receiving Office eligibility rules follow the Patent Cooperation Treaty and its Regulations. Rules and fees may change, and the handling of any particular case depends on the technology, the priority position and the applicant structure. This article is not legal advice.