32. Is the patent examination period limited by priority?

For the examiners in China National Intellectual Property Administration, the time limit for patent examination is set by the leadership internally (the purpose is to speed up the examination), regardless of the priority. For the applicant, some time limits are calculated from the priority date, for example, the time limit for filing a request for substantive examination is calculated from the priority date, not from the application date. However, the period of patent protection after authorization shall be counted from the date of application.