China's State Council approves policy on foreigners taking Chinese patent bar exam

2021/10/12

 
On Oct. 9, China’s State Council, the country’s chief administrative authority, issued an official reply to Temporarily Modifying the Implementation of Some Administrative Laws and Regulations and the State Council’s Papers at Pilot Zones for Deepening Innovative Development of Trade in Services (《关于同意在全面深化服务贸易创新发展试点地区暂时调整实施有关行政法规和国务院文件规定的批复》). The reply approved the policy formulated by the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) in June, where foreigners are allowed to take patent bar exam to obtain patent agent qualification certificate in China. The reply’s full text is available here.
 
 
 
28 municipal cities and provinces were designated as the country’s Pilot Zones for Deepening Innovative Development of Trade in Services in August 2020.
 
China’s Regulations on Patent Application Services (《专利代理条例》) was amended in 2018. The policy about foreign patent agents was designed to further complement article 10 of the amended Regulations. According to the policy, test takers must be Chinese permanent residents with language proficiency eligible for Chinese-language patent exam and admitted as patent agents in other jurisdictions. The policy will be valid in 4 Pilot Zones Beijing city, Suzhou city, Nanjing city, and Guangzhou city until August 1, 2023.
 
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