Monday IPDate Ocotber 13, 2025

EPO-CNIPA Joint Communiqué on Extension of PCT ISA Pilot

The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) pilot programme between the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the European Patent Office (EPO) will continue until 30 November 2031. Nationals and residents of the People’s Republic of China will continue to have the option to select the EPO as their International Searching Authority (ISA).

> EPO-CNIPA Joint Communiqué on Extension of PCT ISA Pilot

USPTO Launched New AI Pilot for Pre-examination Utility Application Search

In furtherance of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) steadfast commitment to dramatically improve examination quality, response time, and efficiency, the agency announced the launch of its Artificial Intelligence Search Automated Pilot (ASAP!) Program. The ASAP! Program will test the USPTO’s internal artificial intelligence (AI) tool’s efficacy for conducting pre-examination prior art searches.

> USPTO Launched New AI Pilot for Pre-examination Utility Application Search