| Patent Prosecution Highway |
Referenced Items (235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246) |
(237) Continuation of the IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program
with the IP5 Offices
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program is a work-sharing
arrangement between two or more patent offices that enables an applicant
who receives a positive ruling on patent claims from one participating
office to request accelerated prosecution of corresponding claims in
another participating office. Therefore, the PPH program allows the
applicant to obtain an expedited patentability decision in the second
office. The examiner in the office of later examination is able to utilize
and augment the search and examination results from the office of earlier
examination, thus allowing for a more comprehensive review and reduced
duplication of effort. The PPH program promotes the USPTO's goal of
providing high-quality and timely examination of patent applications by
facilitating an expedited, thorough examination.
On January 6, 2014, the United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) commenced the IP5 PPH pilot program with the other IP5 offices,
i.e., the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), the
European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), and the Korean
Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). In the IP5 PPH pilot program, an
applicant whose claims have been determined allowable or patentable in an
application filed in one IP5 office may have the corresponding application
filed in another IP5 office advanced out of turn for examination. See
Implementation of the Global and IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot
Programs with Participating Offices, 1400 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 172
(March 18, 2014). This PPH pilot program was due to terminate on January 5,
2023. See Continuation of the IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot
Program with the IP5 Offices, 1471 Off. Gaz. Pat. Office 66 (February 4,
2020).
The USPTO and the IP5 offices have agreed to extend the pilot for a
period of three years ending on January 5, 2026, so that their respective
applicants may continue to obtain the benefits of expedited prosecution and
to maintain their commitment to enhancing intellectual property
cooperation. The USPTO will treat as timely any PPH program request based
on the work product of any IP5 office filed in the USPTO on or before
January 5, 2026. In addition, the USPTO will treat as timely any PPH
program request based on the work product of any IP5 office filed in the
USPTO between January 5, 2023, and the publication date of this notice.
Any inquiries concerning this notice may be directed to Bryan Lin,
International Patent Legal Administration, at 571-272-3303 or
bryan.lin@uspto.gov.
Specific questions about the PPH pilot program should be directed to the
Office of Petitions at 571-272-3282 or PPHfeedback@uspto.gov.
January 30, 2023 KATHERINE K. VIDAL
Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and
Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office
[1507 OG 456]
Top of Notices (237) December 26, 2023