"Patent applications filed on or after October 1, 2025 (inclusive), that request prioritized examination, expedited examination, Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), deferred examination, or centralized examination must be submitted electronically in XML format."

Recently, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) issued a notice on further promoting the use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) format for submitting electronic patent application documents. The notice states that patent applications filed on or after October 1, 2025 (inclusive), which request prioritized examination, expedited examination, PPH, deferred examination, or centralized examination, must be submitted electronically in XML format. In 2026, the CNIPA’s systems will gradually be upgraded to accept only electronic patent application documents in XML format.

Notice from CNIPA on Further Promoting the Use of XML Format for Submitting Electronic Patent Applications

To thoroughly implement the Outline for Building a Powerful Intellectual Property Nation (2021–2035), enhance the informatization level of patent examination, and improve the efficiency of patent application and examination, CNIPA is launching a campaign to promote the use of Extensible Markup Language (XML) format (hereinafter referred to as “XML format”) for submitting electronic patent application documents.

In accordance with Article 6 of the Provisions on Electronic Patent Application (Order No. 57 of CNIPA), applicants and agencies must submit patent application documents in compliance with CNIPA’s relevant data standards and specifications. The relevant matters are hereby notified as follows:

1. For patent applications filed on or after October 1, 2025 (inclusive), any requests for prioritized examination, expedited examination, PPH, deferred examination, or centralized examination must be submitted electronically in XML format. Starting in 2026, CNIPA systems will be gradually upgraded to only accept patent application documents submitted in XML format.

2. This promotion applies to the electronic application documents for invention, utility model, and design patents, including:National Chinese applications；Reexamination and invalidation requests；PCT applications entering the Chinese national phase. The affected documents include: request form, claims, description, drawings, abstract, design drawings, brief description, and their subsequent amendments and replacement documents.

3. If the applicant does not submit the electronic application documents in XML format, or subsequently submits amendments or replacements in non-XML format, this will be deemed as a waiver of the relevant examination-related benefits. Supporting documents, amendment comparison pages, sequence listings, and other materials not listed in Section 2 may still be submitted in other acceptable electronic formats.

4. For convenience, the CNIPA patent e-filing system (http://cponline.cnipa.gov.cn) provides downloadable tools and manuals, including：Patent e-filing data standards；XML format conversion tools；User operation manuals. Applicants and agencies may use CNIPA-provided tools or the system’s editing features to create XML files, or use third-party tools that meet CNIPA’s standards.

5. Applicants and agencies are responsible for proofreading and ensuring the accuracy of the contents of submitted patent application documents.