BEIJING — China's National Intellectual Property Administration (NIPA) said it had signed agreements with 30 patent review organizations across the world on the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) by the end of 2020.

The PPH, a framework for the examination of patent applications filed to participant offices, has become an important way for Chinese applicants to seek rapid patent protection in foreign markets, the NIPA added.

By the end of June 2020, Chinese applicants had submitted a total of 9,066 requests to the PPH, with an average annual growth rate of 22.6 percent.