China-Austria Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Extended for Five Years to 2031

According to a recent joint agreement between the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the Austrian Patent Office (APO), the China-Austria Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme will be extended for another five years, from 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2031, with the requirements and procedures for filing the PPH requests remaining unchanged.

PPH is a fast-track patent examination channel between different countries or regions, allowing the participating patent examination authorities to accelerate the patent examination process through work sharing. Since the launch of its first PPH pilot project in November 2011, the CNIPA has established PPH cooperation with 35 national or regional patent examination authorities covering 86 countries worldwide.