According to a representative from  Patent Examination Administration Department of Patent Office under SIPO, SIPO and Japan Patent Office (JPO) launched the PPH pilot program on November 1st, 2011. Since then, SIPO has established PPH pilot programs with 18 countries in total. "It's worth mentioning that SIPO, European Patent Office (EPO), JPO, Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) launched the three-year-long IP5 PPH pilot program on January 2014. If this IP5 PPH program was counted, SIPO has established 19 PPH pilot programs with overseas IP offices, which are beneficial to enterprises filing PPH applications." according to this representative.  Latest numbers from SIPO showed that as of the end of 2013, Chinese applicants have filed 825 PPH applications via PPH pilot programs, of which 197 are regular PPH applications, 628 are PCT－PPH applications.

On November 1st, SIPO and JPO launched the PPH pilot program. Since then, SIPO has started PPH pilot programs with IP offices from USA, Germany, Russia, Denmark, Finland, Mexico, Austria, Poland, Singapore, Canada, Spain and Portugal etc. In 2014, SIPO launched PPH pilot programs with patent administrations from UK, Iceland, Sweden and Israel. On January 2014, IP5 PPH pilot program was started.

PPH can improve the patent examination efficiency and the applicants can get examination opinions faster than ever before, as the cost of examination will be reduced and delivery of the notifications of examination opinions will be decreased. Besides, the application would see increasing possibilities of approval for patents.  

SIPO has conducted campaigns of PPH promotion. Before the PPH businesses were started, SIPO has released to the public relative guidelines and the latest development of the PPH agreements signed by SIPO and other patent administrations. Meanwhile, SIPO has held scheduled promotion fairs for PPH or other activities to export-oriented enterprises and the applicants. Now, applicants can easily get PPH information on the official website of SIPO at the PPH column, which covers introductions of PPH, latest news, guidelines, Q&A. etc. 

 (Source: China IP News)