The Japan Patent Office (JPO) held an examiner consultation * with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) from June 24 to 27, 2025 .

The JPO and CNIPA have been holding examiner consultations continuously since 2008, and this time, a CNIPA examiner was invited to the JPO for a face-to-face examiner consultation.

Eight patent examiners from the JPO and six from the CNIPA participated in the Examiners' Consultation. They discussed common patent cases between the two offices in four technical fields (advertising, display means, and labels; crushing and pulverization; metal processing; and power transmission and distribution). They also exchanged information on prior art document search methods and the application of examination guidelines, thereby deepening mutual understanding of examination practices between the two offices.

The JPO will continue to cooperate with IP offices of other countries regarding patent examination.

• Link to the Patent Administration Annual Report 2025 Examiner Consultation page

*The examiner consultation is a platform for fostering trust and deepening mutual understanding through discussions between examiners from overseas intellectual property offices on each other's prior art document search methods and examination practices, and for promoting the mutual use of prior art search results and examination results.

Source: https://www.jpo.go.jp//news/ugoki/202508/2025080401.html