The State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China (SIPO) have commenced a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO).
The PPH pilot program will initially be available for 1 year (from December 1, 2011 and November 1, 2011, for the USPTO and JPO respectively).
As has happened in Australia, the pilot program may be extended or terminated depending on the amount of PPH requests.
Like other PPH programs, provided there is a Chinese patent application and at least one corresponding USPTO/JPO application having one or more claims determined to be allowable by the USPTO/JPO, the applicant can request accelerated examination in China via the PPH.
Details on the SIPO/JPO Patent Prosecution Highway Requirements can be found here, while the SIPO/USPTO Patent Prosecution Highway requirements can be found here.