TLDR: The All-China Patent Attorneys Association (ACPAA) has implemented new rules banning its members from using artificial intelligence to directly generate patent application documents and from engaging in malicious price wars. This move, effective September 22, 2025, aims to enhance professional quality and standardize practices within the patent agency industry.
On September 22, 2025, the All-China Patent Attorneys Association (ACPAA) officially released a revised ‘Code of Professional Ethics and Practice Discipline for Patent Agents’. This significant update introduces two primary prohibitions for its members: the direct use of artificial intelligence (AI) in generating patent application documents for final submission and participation in ‘maliciously lowering the price of patent agency services’. The ACPAA’s stated objective for these revisions is to ‘further improve the professional quality of patent agents, standardize the practice of patent agents, and ensure the high-quality development of the patent agency industry’ in China.
This development follows an earlier, similar move by the Nanjing Intellectual Property Protection Centre (NIPPC) on June 4, 2025, which banned the use of AI in drafting patent application documents submitted for pre-examination. The NIPPC had observed that ‘relevant content [of patent applications] was directly generated by artificial intelligence.’ This local prohibition mandated that patent application documents be ‘manually written, drawn, edited, and organized by the applicant or their authorized patent agency based on real inventions, research results, and related materials.’
The ACPAA, a voluntary pseudo-governmental organization approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs and China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), has limited enforcement powers, primarily restricted to expelling members. However, the association’s actions signal a broader regulatory trend. As Jian Li, vice president of East IP in Beijing, noted regarding the Nanjing ban, ‘While this is just a local notification made by the Nanjing Intellectual Property Protection Centre, [banning AI use] could become a dominating policy by the CNIPA and other local offices in China.’
The new Article 15 of the ACPAA’s revised code explicitly states: ‘Patent agents shall ensure the quality of patent agency services and shall be responsible for the patent agency business they sign. Patent agents may not use artificial intelligence to directly generate patent application documents for final submission.’ This underscores a commitment to human oversight and accountability in the patent application process. Furthermore, Article 48 addresses unfair competition, prohibiting practices such as ‘maliciously lowering the price of patent agency services,’ ‘making false claims about one’s own professional capabilities,’ and ‘maliciously hyping up cases.’
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The rationale behind these bans, particularly concerning AI, is partly attributed to China’s ongoing struggle with ‘abnormal’ or ‘bad-faith’ IP applications. These applications are often filed not for genuine innovation but to exploit government incentives like ‘high-tech’ status recognition, which offers tax benefits. The increasing accessibility of AI tools has made it easier to generate such spurious applications, prompting regulatory bodies to act to maintain the integrity of the patent system. While some practitioners acknowledge the validity of addressing bad-faith applications, a blanket ban on AI use in patent drafting has been met with mixed reactions, with some considering it ‘unwarranted’ and potentially ‘difficult to enforce.’
