When Can a PPH Request Be Filed in China?

Answer:

A PPH request must be filed after the Chinese application has been published. There are then two opportunities: (1) together with the request for substantive examination; or (2) after the application has entered substantive examination but before SIPO begins examining it. The applicant must not have received an office action from SIPO’s substantive examination department before or when filing the PPH request. Such actions include a notification to file a divisional application and other notifications issued by the substantive examiner.

Voluntary amendments may be needed to make the claims sufficiently correspond to those allowed by the Office of Earlier Examination (OEE). In that case, the PPH timing is also constrained by the period for voluntary amendment. In China, voluntary amendments may be filed with the substantive examination request or within three months of receiving notification that the application has entered substantive examination. If amendments are required to meet the PPH conditions, the PPH request should be filed with or after those amendments.