The ever expanding Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) network keeps getting new additions, and as usual, the AWAPATENT IP Blog sums up the new expansions and arising possibilities.
The PPH is a system of bilateral agreements allowing for requesting accelerated examination at one participating office. The system is based on the search results and a set of claims accepted for grant, in an analogous application, at the other participating office.
Most recently, European patent applicants have been offered the possibility of speeding up and simplifying the examination. Namely, effective as of 1 October 2016, the EPO (European Patent Office) and the Superintendence of Industry and Commerce of Colombia have launched a new PPH agreement. The agreement applies to both national and PCT work products. The EPO’s notification of entry into force can be found here.
Furthermore, the EPO has just announced the signing of three new PPH agreements with the IP offices in Russia, Malaysia and the Philippines. These three PPH agreements will, according to the EPO, enter into force during 2017. The announcement may be found here. The AWAPATENT IP Blog will inform its readers of the actual dates of the entry into force.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the Chilean and Moroccan IP offices also have joined the PPH network. The Chilean IP office has together with the Mexican, Colombian and Peruvian IP offices signed mutual PPH agreements. The Moroccan IP office has signed a PPH agreement with the Spanish patent office. This makes the grand total of IP offices, participating in the PPH network, 41.
Troels Peter Rørdam, European Patent Attorney & Certified Danish Patent Agent