User Guide of IP5 Trail and Appeal Procedures

Recently, the 2025 High-Level Meeting of the Re-examination Institutions of the IP5 Offices (China, the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Korea) and related series of activities were held in Fuzhou. During the event, the re-examination institutions of the five offices jointly released the User Guide of IP5 Trial and Appeal Procedures(hereinafter referred to as the "Guide") for the first time, which has received widespread attention and high acclaim from users.

The Guideis a key outcome of this high-level meeting, and also the first compiled deliverable and first user-oriented result of the series of meetings, marking milestone significance. Initiated by the Re-examination and Invalidation Division of the Patent Office of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the Guidedrew active participation from the re-examination institutions of the United States, Europe, Japan, and South Korea. Information contained herein was provided by the re-examination institutions of all five offices, compiled and summarized by CNIPA’s Re-examination and Invalidation Division, and finalized after review and confirmation by all parties. Per the consensus reached during the meeting, the re-examination institutions of the five offices will publish the content of the Guideon their respective official websites and promote it at appropriate times to facilitate its rational use. All parties further agreed to continuously update the Guidebased on user feedback to provide better guidance.

Available in both Chinese and English, the Guidecompiles the basic procedural rules and practical operation workflows of patent re-examination and post-grant procedures across the five offices. It specifically covers foundational information about the five re-examination institutions, trial procedures, amendment rules, user policies, and frequently accessed resources. The Guideaims to help global users understand the patent grant and confirmation system, flexibly navigate relevant trial procedures, support cross-border intellectual property protection, and empower international economic and trade exchanges and cooperation.

Annex: User Guide of IP5 Trial and Appeal Procedures