Underwood & Associates U.S. & International Patent Protection

U.S. Patent Filing for Applicants from China

Chinese applicants file more U.S. patent applications than applicants from any other country outside the United States. If your application started at CNIPA or as a Chinese-language PCT application, here is what entering the U.S. involves, and what it costs.

Since July 20, 2026, the USPTO requires applicants domiciled outside the U.S. to be represented by a registered U.S. patent practitioner. What the rule means for your filings

From your CNIPA or PCT application to a U.S. filing

Most Chinese applicants reach the U.S. one of two ways:

  • PCT national stage. You filed an international application, often in Chinese with CNIPA as receiving office, and the 30-month deadline for U.S. entry is approaching. We prepare and file the U.S. national-stage entry, including the priority claim to your original application.
  • Direct U.S. filing under the Paris Convention. You filed at CNIPA and want a U.S. non-provisional application within the 12-month priority year.

Either way, our fee is a flat $750 through the official filing receipt: declaration, power of attorney, assignment recordation, information disclosure statement, and the filing itself included. See the complete cost breakdown with current USPTO fees

Translation

A U.S. application must be in English. If your international application was published in Chinese, an English translation of the specification, claims, and abstract is required at national-stage entry. The flat rate covers filing your completed, translated application; it does not include preparing the translation. If your firm has a translator it trusts, we work from that translation; we review what we file for compliance with U.S. formal requirements.

Priority documents

For Paris Convention filings, the USPTO retrieves certified copies of Chinese priority applications electronically through the WIPO Digital Access Service (DAS). Provide your DAS access code, and no paper certified copy is needed. For PCT national-stage entries, the priority document is already in the international file.

Filed your Chinese application first?

Inventions made in China are subject to CNIPA's confidentiality examination before foreign filing. In the typical case, where a Chinese application or Chinese-filed PCT application comes first and the U.S. filing second, this is handled in your home filing, and your Chinese firm will have addressed it. We coordinate with your firm so nothing falls between the two systems.

Working with Chinese patent firms

We serve as U.S. associate for patent and IP firms across China. Your client stays your client: we file, prosecute, and report to you, and follow your instructions on strategy. Instructions received by the start of the U.S. business day are often filed the same day, which matters when a 30-month deadline is counted in hours, not weeks.

Initiate a filing request or contact us with your application number and deadline.