On July 30, 2026, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration(CNIPA) released the revised Measures for Administration of Priority Examination of Patents (Order No. 85) effective September 1, 2026.

Priority Examination is available for:

(i) Invention patent applications that are in the substantive examination stage and have not yet been given initial treatment. Initial treatment means that the examiner has begun examination and issued a notification.

(ii) Utility model and design patent applications; 

(iii) Re-examination cases of invention, utility model and design patent applications;  

(iv) Invalidation cases concerning invention, utility model and design patents.

                                                                                                                                                          Source: www.cnipa. gov.cn