Top of Notices Top of Notices   (196)  December 31, 2013 US PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE Print This Notice 1397 CNOG  747 

Patent Prosecution Highway Referenced Items (176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247, 248, 249, 250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267) 
(196)        Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between the
              United States Patent and Trademark Office and the
           Industrial Property Office of the Czech Republic based on
                    Patent Cooperation Treaty Work Products

I.  Background

   Since 2006, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has
established Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programs with several
Offices. In general, such PPH pilot programs permit an applicant who receives
a determination from one office that at least one claim is allowable/
atentable to request that a corresponding application in another office be
accorded special status and advanced out of turn for examination. These PPH
pilot programs are limited to the utilization of search and examination
results of national applications between cross filings under the Paris
Convention.

   In order to expand the potential of the PPH pilot program, the USPTO
recently implemented a new PPH pilot program with our Trilateral partners
(the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO)), the
Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the Austrian Patent Office
(APO), the Federal Service on Intellectual Property, Patents & Trademarks
of Russia (Rospatent), the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), IP
Australia (IPAU), the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland
(NBPR), the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV), the Nordic Patent
Institute (NPI), the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's
Republic of China (SIPO), and the Israeli Patent Office (ILPO) based on
Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) work products (PCT-PPH pilot program). The
USPTO had discussions with the Industrial Property Office of the Czech
Republic (IPOCZ) to launch a PCT-PPH pilot program based in part on the
PCT-PPH pilot programs identified above. The USPTO and the IPOCZ agreed that
consistency between PCT-PPH pilot programs should be maintained to the extent
possible, to avoid creating burdens on applicants and offices, and to ensure
maximum work-sharing potential.

II. PCT-PPH Pilot Program

   The PCT-PPH pilot program was established to enable an applicant, who has
received

(1) a Written Opinion from the United States International Searching
Authority, or

(2) a Written Opinion from the United States International Preliminary
Examining Authority, or

(3) an International Preliminary Examination Report from the United States
International Preliminary Examining Authority,

that indicates at least one claim in the PCT application has novelty,
inventive step and industrial applicability, to file a request to participate
in the PCT-PPH pilot program and request accelerated examination for the
corresponding application filed with the IPOCZ. The procedures and
requirements for filing a request in the IPOCZ for participation in the
PCT-PPH pilot program are available from the IPOCZ Web site at:
http://www.upv.cz/en.html.

Trial Period for the PCT-PPH Pilot Program

   USPTO and IPOCZ agreed to commence the PCT-PPH pilot program on October
1, 2012, for a period of one year ending on September 30, 2013. The trial
period may be extended if necessary until the IPOCZ receives a sufficient
number of PCT-PPH requests to adequately assess the feasibility of the
PCT-PPH pilot program. The USPTO and the IPOCZ may also terminate the PCT-
PPH pilot program early if the volume of participation exceeds a manageable
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level, or for any other reasons. Notice will be published if the PCT-PPH
pilot program will be terminated before September 30, 2013.

   Any inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to Bryan Lin, Office
of PCT Legal Administration, at 571-272-3303, or via e-mail addressed to
bryan.lin@uspto.gov.

   Specific questions about the Patent Prosecution Highway should be
directed to the Office of Petitions at 571-272-3282, or via e-mail addressed
to PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.

October 9, 2012                                             DAVID J. KAPPOS
                  Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
                  Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office

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