Effective September 1, 2026: Ten Key Changes in the New Patent Prioritized Examination Administration Measures (Order No. 85)

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) new Administrative Measures for Patent Prioritized Examination (Order No. 85) will come into official effect on September 1, 2026, simultaneously repealing Order No. 76 issued in 2017. The new measures mark a comprehensive shift of prioritized examination from a quantity-oriented approach to a quality-oriented one, formally entering a new stage of strict entry, strict supervision, and value-based review. This article outlines the ten changes of greatest concern to applicants and agencies.

Appendix: Overview of Core Changes Between Old and New Rules

I. Which Cases Are Eligible for Prioritized Examination?

Under the new measures, the following applications may request prioritized examination:

• An invention patent application in the substantive examination stage for which no first action has been taken (a first action means the examiner has begun examination and issued a notification);
• A utility model or design patent application;
• A reconsideration case for an invention, utility model, or design;
• An invalidation case for an invention, utility model, or design.

II. Ten Key Changes

1. Qualitative Change in Application Threshold: From Industry Enumeration to Innovation Value Plus Commercialization Prospects

Article 5 requires patent applications and reconsideration cases to simultaneously possess significant innovation value and commercialization prospects, and to meet one of the following circumstances:

• Involving emerging and future industries, or tackling key core technologies;
• Involving industries key encouraged by provincial or prefecture-level people’s governments;
• Already implemented or prepared for industrialization, or with evidence that others are implementing it;
• After first filing in China on the same subject, a request for substantive examination is filed in another country/region;
• Of great significance to national or public interests.

⚠️ Key change: The old version enumerated specific industries (e.g., energy conservation/environmental protection, IT); the new version adopts the general reference emerging and future industries and adds innovation value and commercialization prospects as a prerequisite threshold.

💡 Business impact: Existing technical disclosure documents must add an evidence chain for innovation value plus commercialization prospects; pure volume-driven applications will essentially not qualify for prioritized examination.

2. Four Categories of Negative List for Generally Not Granted Prioritized Examination (Article 8)

The new measures explicitly define a negative list for the first time, closing institutional loopholes:

• A divisional application whose original application has already been granted accelerated examination — blocking repeat prioritized examination of divisionals;
• Same-day filing of invention plus utility model (dual filing of one case) — blocking the dual-filing loophole;
• Already granted other forms of accelerated examination — no repeat application allowed;
• Foreign-related application with obviously no prospect of grant — a quality threshold for the foreign-related recommendation-exempt channel.

💡 Business impact: For divisionals, dual filings, and those already on other accelerated channels, stop wasting prioritized-examination quotas.

3. Response Deadline Substantially Shortened (Article 16)

• Invention patent OA response: 1 month;
• Utility model/design response: 15 days;

⚠️ Extension of the response deadline is not permitted under any circumstance; overdue submission terminates prioritized examination and reverts to the ordinary procedure.

💡 Business impact: OA responses are only 1 month (15 days for utility model/design) and not extendable; prepare the response draft in advance, as overdue submission reverts to the ordinary procedure and all prior effort is lost.

4. Restriction on Voluntary Amendments After Prioritized Examination Begins (Article 17)

After the CNIPA issues the Notice of Granting Prioritized Examination, the applicant may no longer voluntarily amend the application documents under Article 57 of the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Law.

💡 Business impact: Once the prioritized-examination notice is received, claims cannot be changed at will; finalization of the application documents must be handled with greater care.

5. One-Year Ban for Bad Faith (Article 22)

For a prioritized-examination requester or patent agency that violates the principle of good faith, the CNIPA will not accept any prioritized-examination request submitted by them within one year from the determination.

💡 Business impact: Fabricated materials/violations result in a one-year ban; agencies must more strictly guard against integrity issues.

6. Tightened Application Window During Substantive Examination (Article 4)

The old version allowed application if in the substantive examination stage; the new version requires in the substantive examination stage and for which no first action has been taken, meaning the examiner has not yet begun examination and issued a notification.

💡 Business impact: Once the first office action is issued in substantive examination, prioritized examination can no longer be requested; act early if you want acceleration.

7. Changes to PCT/Foreign-Related Application Threshold (Article 5(4))

The old version allowed filing an application abroad; the new version requires requesting substantive examination abroad. The PCT case time window is pushed back, requiring waiting until the foreign application enters the substantive examination stage.

💡 Business impact: Foreign-related prioritized examination requires the foreign application to have entered substantive examination; PCT national-phase planning must be arranged in advance.

8. Expanded Scope of Prioritized Examination for Invalidation Cases (Article 6)

Expanded from the original 2 circumstances to 4:

• The patent is involved in an infringement dispute, and the party has requested a local IP office to handle it or filed a lawsuit with a people’s court;
• New: involving administrative adjudication/mediation of major patent infringement disputes, administrative adjudication under the early-resolution mechanism for drug patent disputes, or mediation of patent open-license disputes;
• New: the patent is involved in a licensing contract dispute, and the party has requested arbitration;
• Of great significance to national or public interests.

💡 Business impact: Invalidation cases involving infringement/licensing disputes may also use prioritized examination, speeding up the enforcement timeline.

9. New Examination Time-Limit Rules (Article 15)

• Invention patent application: first action within 45 days, disposed within 1 year;
• Utility model/design: disposed within 2 months;
• Reconsideration case: disposed within 7 months;
• Invention/utility-model invalidation: disposed within 5 months;
• Design invalidation: disposed within 4 months.

💡 Business impact: Invention prioritized examination is disposed within 1 year, making the overall rights-confirmation/enforcement cycle more predictable.

10. Electronic Filing Becomes a Hard Requirement (Article 10)

Patent applications or cases requesting prioritized examination must use a compliant electronic filing method; paper applications will be unable to request prioritized examination.

💡 Business impact: Paper applications directly lose eligibility for prioritized examination; be sure to use electronic filing.

III. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

When will the new Prioritized Examination Administration Measures take effect?

They take effect on September 1, 2026, and simultaneously repeal Order No. 76 of 2017.

Which applications are generally not granted prioritized examination?

Divisional applications (original already accelerated), same-day filings of invention and utility model, those already granted other forms of accelerated examination, and foreign-related applications with obviously no prospect of grant are generally not granted prioritized examination.

What is the response deadline for invention patents under prioritized examination?

For invention patents it is 1 month, and for utility models and designs it is 15 days, none extendable; overdue submission terminates prioritized examination and reverts to the ordinary procedure.

How long is the examination cycle under prioritized examination?

Invention: first action within 45 days, disposed within 1 year; utility model/design: disposed within 2 months; reconsideration: within 7 months; invalidation: invention/utility model within 5 months, design within 4 months.

Can paper applications request prioritized examination?

No. Requesting prioritized examination must use a compliant electronic filing method.

IV. Recommendations for Applicants

Under the new measures, prioritized examination places greater emphasis on innovation quality and commercialization prospects. It is recommended to fully prepare evidence of innovation value plus commercialization prospects (e.g., implementation evidence, proof of government key-industry status, overseas substantive-examination requests) before submitting the request.

Zhihai Yida can assist in assessing prioritized-examination feasibility, organizing request materials, and tracking examination progress. This article is compiled from officially published content; for specifics, the latest CNIPA regulations shall prevail.

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