Patent priority examination under mission orientation: can speed and quality coexist?

Under the backdrop of mission-oriented innovation, the rapid implementation of innovative achievements depends not only on research and development activities, but also on the patent examination process. Striking a balance between improving examination speed and ensuring the quality of granted patents poses a challenge. This paper delineates two pivotal mission categories—grand challenge (climate change) and major emergency (COVID-19), utilizing the conceptual framework of “urgency” that has been constructed. We primarily focus on the impact of the patent priority examination institution on examination period and patent quality under the two missions. Based on data from over 300,000 patents belonging to the fields of vehicle manufacturing and medicine in China, difference-in-differences and survival analysis are used to conduct empirical tests. The research results indicate that under certain missions, both climate change and COVID-19, the “green channel” could shorten the examination period without compromising the quality of authorized patents. Through further analysis, we also find that, patent examination acceleration is mainly manifested by alleviating the authorization lag (rather than publication lag). Additionally, the prioritization institution has changed the impact of applicant characteristics (organizational and country attributes) on the patent examination period.