By Donald Zuhn –

The China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) has instituted a change in its inventor information requirements.  For Chinese patent applications filed on or after January 1, 2026, Applicants must submit an inventor ID number for every inventor along with each inventor’s nationality.  The nationality of each Inventor mustbe submitted at the time an application is filed.  For inventors holding dual nationality, the Applicant must choose one nationality for submission to CNIPA.

The inventor ID number can be submitted at the time of filing or within two months from the date of a CNIPA notification requesting the inventor ID number.  For Chinese inventors, the ID number is their National ID number (i.e., an 18-digit Citizen Identity Number issued by the Chinese government).  For non-Chinese inventors, a passport number or any other government-issued valid identifying number, such as a driver’s license number, is acceptable.

Patent Docs thanks Chinese intellectual property firm AFD China for alerting us to the new inventor ID requirement.