Patent Prosecution Highway news

The PPH pilot project has gained new participants. Recently, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) on the bilateral launch of the PPH have been concluded, and one existing agreement has been prolonged.

Accordingly, on September 27, 2018, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the National Institute of Industrial Property of Chile (INAPI) signed a MoU on the PPH, which will come in effect starting from November 1, 2018.

Furthermore, on September 25, 2018, the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) also executed a Memorandum of Understanding on the PPH pilot programme, which will commence on January 1, 2019.

The duration of the trial period for both agreements will be three years with a possibility of further prolongation or early termination.

Also, the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the National Intellectual Property Administration of China (CNIPA) have recently announced an extension of their PPH agreement for another three-year period until August 31, 2021. CIPO and CNIPA have been cooperating under the PPH pilot for five years. Concurrently, CIPO will continue to process PPH requests without additional charge, only applying its regular fees for the examination of patent applications.

The PPH pilot project proved to be an efficient, fast and cost-effective way for the applicants to obtain their patents in multiple countries. Furthermore, it allows for both IP offices to benefit from the use of examination previously carried out by the other participating office, in turn reducing workload and accelerating patent granting.