To print this article, all you need is to be registered or login on Mondaq.com. The Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has established a two-year pilot cooperation with the European Patent Office (EPO) for patent applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). With effect from 1 st December 2020, nationals and residents of the People's Republic of China including its Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau are allowed to designate EPO, other than CNIPA, as their International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for international applications filed in English under the PCT. This pilot cooperation is available to 2500 applications in