[CMG Policy Radar] 15th Five-Year Plan for Patent and Trademark Examination

China Macro Group | policy · business · strategy 

What it is

Issued by CNIPA, the plan aims to build a “world-class” patent and trademark examination authority by 2030, keeping invention-patent examination times among the fastest of major offices. It covers examination rules for AI, big data, gene technology and green technology, inventorship and AI-use declarations for AI-assisted inventions, pilot examination mechanisms for standard-essential patents, and fast, priority and deferred examination on demand.

Why it matters

The plan links trademark examination to China’s industrial goals, with faster handling and tailored rules to support core-technology breakthroughs in priority sectors. At the same time, the plan also seeks to align China’s patent rules with CPTPP standards (priority, grace periods, deferred examination), consistent with its accession bid.

Implications

Medium. Foreign pharma, machinery and consumer brands would benefit from tougher action against bad-faith registrations of their trademarks and from more predictable examination timelines. Priority examination for strategic industries and new rules on standard-essential patents and AI-assisted inventions could give domestic firms a strategic advantage over foreign competitors.

Author:

Max de Bruyn Gomez

Analyst at CMG