China's National Intellectual Property Administration recently announced plans to improve efficiency and quality in patent review during its February press conference. The head of the CNIPA’s examination department, Wei Baozhi, said that the agency aims to improve its patent review standards in new areas such as big data, artificial intelligence, and gene technology, and to introduce more rigorous examination procedures to enhance the quality of patent authorizations. The agency will also streamline the patent review process to reduce the review cycle for invention patents to 16 months and achieve a case-closure accuracy rate of over 93%.

The CNIPA also plans to introduce new examination procedures for utility model and design patents to improve their quality, and to fulfill its obligations under the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Deposit of Industrial Designs. It will also crack down on abnormal patent application behavior and trademark hoarding, as well as promote the use of credit commitments and other measures to ensure patent fee reductions.

Wang Peizhang, head of the CNIPA's Public Service Department, said that the agency will further deepen its commitment to patent fee reduction by exploring the use of credit commitments in the patent application process and conducting tax verification of patent fee reduction applicants. These efforts aim to facilitate innovation and promote the development of China's intellectual property industry.