Allen Zhou | Mar 24, 2022

One of my foreign clients addressed an email two days before the 30-month CN national entry deadline, asking if he should file the extension request within the 30-month deadline.

In fact, this is a very simple question, but it can easily incur wandering thoughts in real practices if not clarified. And this is not the first time I have encountered such a question from clients. So I share a post here.

For your information, by #PCT route, China allows for late entry (until 32 months) with an official fee.

This means under normal circumstances, the applicant should file or instruct the Chinese IP agent to file the CN national application by the end of the 30-month deadline; However, if the time is too late due to some other reasons, the applicant can take the advantage of the two-month extension to deal with CN application.

From the client's email, it was clear to me that the client had some understanding of the above extension policy. However, he did not know exactly at what point in time he should file the extension request and pay the extension fee.

In case other friends and associates have the same question, kindly check the details below:

As long as we submit the CN application within the 32-month deadline, there is no need to file the official extension request by the 30-month deadline. Within the 32-month deadline, we can just go with the normal patent application routine like other cases – but with extra simple steps, just attach the extension request and submit the extension fee along with the filing documents.

If there are differences in other jurisdictions, I warmly welcome further discussion. Please leave your comments or questions if any.