CNIPA Revises Patent Examination Guidelines to Strengthen Examination Standards for New Business Forms Such as Artificial Intelligence

On November 10, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued the Decision on Amending Patent Examination Guidelines (the “Decision”), which will take effect on January 1, 2026. The Decision improves examination standards for new fields such as Artificial Intelligence and bitstream, clarifies the definition of plant varieties, and optimizes rules on handling same-day applications, statements of priority in divisional applications, and requests for invalidation.

The main revisions include:

1. Clarifying that Inventors must be Natural Persons, and that Patent Agencies shall verify the identity information of Applicants;

2. Providing that where a Divisional Application does not declare priority, it shall be deemed as not claiming priority;

3. Adjusting the scope of patent protection for animal and plant varieties, with Genetically Modified animals and plants remaining subject to restrictions;

4. For same-day applications of Invention and Utility Model patents, the Utility Model must be abandoned before the Invention patent may be granted;

5. Requiring, for the examination of Inventive Step, that the technical features of the Claims contribute to the technical problem;

6. For patents related to Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Algorithms, and Business Rules, where they violate laws or public morals they shall not be granted, and the Specification must sufficiently disclose the technical solution;

7. Adding a new chapter on examination of Bitstream patents, clarifying the objects of protection and requirements for drafting Claims;

8. Requiring that proof documents for assignment of priority bear the signatures or seals of all Applicants;

9. Clarifying that a request for Invalidation that is not a genuine expression of intent shall not be accepted, and that where the Patentee amends the Claims, replacement pages and a comparison table must be submitted;

10. Clarifying on-demand examination, expedited examination, and related procedures