How do ASPEC+ and the China Indonesia PPH help accelerate patent examination in ASEAN?

ASPEC+ AND CHINA – INDONESIA PPH: FASTER PATENT EXAMINATION IN ASEAN

Patent applicants seeking protection across Southeast Asia now have more options to accelerate examination, following the launch of the ASPEC+ Programme and the CNIPA–DGIP Patent Prosecution Highway (“PPH”) between China and Indonesia.

ASPEC+: Parallel Examination Across ASEAN

Launched in April 2026, ASPEC+ allows participating ASEAN IP offices to examine corresponding patent applications in parallel and exchange examination results.

Unlike the traditional ASPEC programme, which generally works sequentially, ASPEC+ aims for participating offices to issue their respective first office actions within approximately 10 to 14 months, subject to completion of formalities and the complexity of the application.

To qualify, the applications must generally:-

• belong to the same patent family;
• have identical or sufficiently corresponding claims;
• be filed before the first office action is issued;
• have the relevant substantive examination fees paid; and
• include an ASPEC+ request form and claim correspondence table.

There is no additional official fee for the ASPEC+ request, although ordinary national examination fees remain payable.

China – Indonesia PPH Now Available

From 1 August 2026, the China National Intellectual Property Administration (“CNIPA”) and Indonesia’s Directorate General of Intellectual Property (“DGIP”) commenced a PPH pilot programme.

Under the programme, applicants may request accelerated examination in Indonesia where CNIPA has already found one or more corresponding Chinese claims to be patentable or allowable. Importantly, the Chinese patent does not need to be granted first. A favourable finding in a CNIPA office action may be sufficient.

The Indonesian claims must sufficiently correspond to the allowable Chinese claims, and the PPH request must generally be filed before DGIP begins substantive examination. Applicants may need to provide CNIPA office actions, allowable claims, cited references and a claim correspondence table. The programme also extends to certain PCT applications where CNIPA-issued international examination work products identify at least one claim as patentable.

These programmes can help patent owners obtain earlier examination results, reduce duplicated prosecution work and improve consistency across regional patent portfolios.

However, timing is important. Applicants should consider ASPEC+ or PPH before substantive examination progresses too far, as eligibility may be lost once an office action has been issued or examination has commenced.

With around 20 years of experience in intellectual property protection across Southeast Asia, Pintas IP Groupassists businesses with patent filing and prosecution, PCT national-phase applications, ASPEC and PPH acceleration strategies, patent portfolio management and wider IP commercialisation matters.

By combining international insight with local experience across ASEAN jurisdictions, Pintas helps businesses develop practical and coordinated patent strategies for the region. Contact Pintas for a complimentary consultation to explore whether ASPEC+, the CNIPA–DGIP PPH or other accelerated examination options may benefit your patent portfolio.