How China, Japan and Korea reward planning
Each of these offices has its own rights and timing, and three-year examination windows in China and Japan let you stage your spending.
Lesson 9 of 12 · 4 min
Filing in East Asia rewards people who plan. The first question is not "where do we file?" but where the invention was made, which a later lesson covers. After that, the opportunity is timing, because examination does not have to begin the moment you file (JPO FAQ).
China
China offers three rights: an invention patent lasting 20 years, a utility model lasting 10 and a design lasting 15. A utility model is a shorter right for technical subject matter. You must request examination of an invention within 3 years. Utility models and designs are granted on preliminary examination, without the full review an invention gets (Patent Law, CNIPA translation). In our judgment, that mix gives you options, because a utility model may reach grant while a slower invention case is pending. There is a catch for same-day filings, which the Current section explains.
Japan
Japan also requires an examination request within 3 years (JPO FAQ). So in both countries you can hold the larger examination spend until you know more about the market.
Japan's grace period needs care. Its Article 30 exception does not protect you against a third party's intervening filing or publication (JPO grace period FAQ). If someone else files or publishes after your disclosure, the exception may not save you.
Korea
Our research on Korea is limited. It covers mainly the grace period, taught earlier in this academy, and the 31-month PCT national phase (WIPO time limits). The office's Guidelines are the place to start (MOIP Guidelines). Local counsel can fill the rest.
Using examination windows
In our judgment, these windows are a staging tool. File to hold your position, watch how the product performs, then decide whether to pay for examination. If one office finds a claim patentable, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) lets that claim get accelerated examination at another office (JPO PPH page). So one good result can speed up the rest.
The trade-off is that a request delayed is certainty delayed, so in our judgment you should docket each window as a hard date.
Timeless wisdom
China offers invention (20 years), utility model (10) and design (15) rights, requires an examination request for inventions within 3 years, and grants utility models and designs on preliminary examination (Patent Law, CNIPA translation). Japan also requires an examination request within 3 years (JPO FAQ). Its Article 30 grace does not protect against a third party's intervening filing or publication (JPO grace period FAQ). PPH lets a claim found patentable at one office get accelerated examination at another (JPO PPH page).
What's current
As of November 6, 2026
China: Guidelines revised effective Jan. 1, 2026 add AI ethics and disclosure requirements. Same-day utility model and invention filings must each state the other exists, or the one-patent rule applies (China IP Law Update). Commentary reports that the 2024 Implementing Regulations added priority restoration (Mondaq) and deferred examination (AFD via Mondaq). Invention pendency is reported at about 15 months at end 2025 (NatLawReview). PCT entry costs CNY 900 plus CNY 50, with substantive examination CNY 2,500 (CNIPA FAQ, translated).
Japan: Fees at April 1, 2026 are ¥14,000 filing and ¥138,000 plus ¥4,000 per claim for examination (JPO fee list). FY2024 pendency was 9.1 months to first action and 13.0 months in total, measured from the examination request, so do not compare it directly with other offices (JPO Status Report 2026).
Korea: The office is now the Ministry of Intellectual Property, and its Guidelines are dated February 2026 (MOIP).
Key takeaways
- China and Japan both allow up to 3 years to request examination.
- Those windows let you delay a large expense until you know more.
- Japan's grace period does not protect against a third party's intervening filing or publication.
- A patentable result at one office can speed up another through PPH.
Check your understanding
Sources
- Patent Law of China, CNIPA translation
- JPO patent FAQ
- JPO FAQ on the exception to lack of novelty
- WIPO time limits for national phase entry
- Korea MOIP Patent Examination Guidelines, February 2026
- JPO Patent Prosecution Highway page
- China IP Law Update on the revised Guidelines
- Mondaq on priority rights in the revised Implementing Regulations
- AFD via Mondaq on deferred examination
- NatLawReview on the CNIPA work report
- CNIPA FAQ on PCT national phase, translated
- JPO fee list
- JPO Status Report 2026
The Academy is general education, not legal advice, and reading it doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Patent law and fees change, so check the linked sources and have a registered patent attorney or agent review your situation before you file. Obsidyan sells patent software, including AI drafting tools, so weigh what these lessons say about AI tools with that in mind.