In the past decade and a half, two common complaints have circulated within China's innovation ecosystem.
On one side, R&D directors from AI and new energy companies say: "We submitted patent applications over a year ago with no grants yet—our products have already iterated through three generations while our patents are still in line."
On the other side, the biopharma IP lead said: "Patents are licensed too early. Clinical trials aren't finished, and the drug isn't on the market yet—20 years of protection have already quietly burned away."
These two voices point to the same thing —The traditional patent examination's "one-size-fits-all" pace can no longer keep up with the industry's differentiated speed.。
Since 2025, the China National Intellectual Property Administration has established and implementedOn-demand patent examination mechanismThe core philosophy is encapsulated in just sixteen characters:
Proceed at the right pace: move fast when needed, slow down when appropriate, and adapt dynamically to changing requirements.
This isn't launching a new examination process. Instead, it unifies existing channels—priority, accelerated, deferred, and centralized examinations—to dynamically allocate resources based on technology domain, industry stage, and commercial strategy, ensuring examination progress aligns with R&D, market activities, and global expansion.
1. Why Do We Need On-Demand Review?
At the State Council Information Office press conference in 2025, the CNIPA was very direct: two forces are driving this.
First, the industry rhythm has fragmented.
In AI, the internet, and smart connected vehicles, technology cycles are measured in quarters. Enterprises fear that IP rights will be established slower than product launches.
Life sciences, new materials, and medical devices: R&D cycles span 5–10 years. Companies often fear early licensing before market entry, inadvertently shortening their protection period.
A unified pipeline with a fixed 15.5-month average cycle cannot cover all bases.
Second, allocate resources strategically rather than uniformly.
The average examination cycle for invention patents has been reduced to 15.5 months (matching the faster international benchmark), yet the volume continues to rise.
When low-quality applications and high-value core patents queue together, the result is: cutting-edge technologies stall while watered-down patents occupy slots.
The essence of on-demand review is institutionalizing "quality cases receive quality scrutiny."Good cases go to the fast lane, strategic cases to the buffer zone, and portfolio cases to centralized approval.。
II. Three Main Channels for On-Demand Review (with Practical Personas)
1. Expedited Review: Priority Examination + Fast-Track at Protection Centers
Priority Review: Focused on key industries such as next-generation information technology, high-end equipment, new energy, and biomedicine; the first office action for a standard invention is issued within 45 days.Average case closure time: 7 months。
Expedited Examination (Protection Center Pre-examination)The applicant goes through the preliminary review at the Protection Center, then enters the green channel at CNIPA; invention patent authorization can be expedited.3–6 months, some cases within 3 months.
Who is this forA company where being first with products in AI algorithms, chips, energy storage cells, and SaaS underlying protocols creates a moat.
2. Pause Review: Suspend the "Real-time Clock"
Applicant requests to defer initiation or conclude substantive examination in exchange forTechnical confidentiality window, SEP negotiation leverage, global family synchronization。
Since the 14th Five-Year Plan, CNIPA has received a cumulative total of deferred examination requests.6.6 K"2025 1–5: 9300+ items in a single period."
Who is this for: Innovator drugs, gene therapies, and material formulations — marketing approval may lag behind patent grant; better to delay certification than compromise total protection period.
3. Centralized Review: Review an entire technical package together.
For the same applicant, around a key technologyPatent Portfolio/FamilyBulk entry, reviewer collaboration, and standardized processes.
The CNIPA has already processed 2025 from 1 to 5.Batch review for 13Authorize a batch of high-value patents that enhance industrial security.
Who is this forPower battery systems, industrial robot integrators, and communication standard proposers: Single-item licensing is unstable; only bundled licenses are viable for negotiation.
💡 One-liner to remember:Fast-track protection for urgent cases, delayed processing for long-cycle applications, and centralized filing for patent portfolios.
III. How will the "15th Five-Year Plan" evolve? Three clear signals
At the State Council Information Office's special press conference on intellectual property for the 15th Five-Year Plan in 2026 year, month 7, the CNIPA provided clear follow-up actions:
More powerfulThe four modes—Priority, Fast, Delayed, and Consolidated—are now standard supply options in planning guidelines, no longer limited to pilot program benefits.
Tighten the gateSync the "strict authorization gate" by enhancing inventive step examination. Link pre-examination, substantive examination, reexamination, and invalidation proceedings end-to-end to make it harder for low-quality patents to exploit fast-track routes.
Deeper IntelligenceMulti-modal large models enter the review phase: intelligent search and defect detection ensure reliability—fast and organized.
In accordance with the 2026 revision of the "Patent Examination Guidelines" dated 1 month 1,"On-demand review" has been formally incorporated into the rule layer., not window guidance.
4. What should a company's IP strategy change to accommodate?
Many corporate IP departments still operate on a "submit and grant as early as possible" mindset. Once demand-driven examination is implemented, at least three priorities must be reprioritized:
Set the pace during the project initiation phase.If the R&D cycle is less than 3 years, proceed with Priority/Expedited examination. If it exceeds 5 years and involves a foreign family, file a Deferred Examination request by default.
Keep patents togetherFor the same technology package with 5 or more items, proactively request centralized examination. This offers significantly higher stability than waiting for individual item-by-item authorization.
Fast lanes are not a get-out-of-jail-free card.Expedited examination also assesses inventiveness. If the disclosure lacks novelty support, any patent granted within 7 months will likely be invalidated later.
Conclusion
Patent examination on demand: On the surface, it offers "optional review cycles," but at its core, it isA Shift in the Logic of Intellectual Property Supply：
From administrative assembly lines to industry service hubs.
From meeting quantity targets to achieving value alignment.
For innovators, the future isn't about who files first—it's about who integrates patent timing into R&D and capital cycles.
Reviews are on-demand; layouts must be intentional.