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Japan Patent Office Launches Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) concurred with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) that the two Offices would launch a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program on July 1, as a result of the meeting between the heads of the two Offices held in Singapore on June 16, 2009. The JPO has already started PPH programs with eight Patent Offices in the world, and these Offices including the JPO receive, in total, around 64% of worldwide patent filings. IPOS, with which the present PPH arrangement has been concluded, is the first PPH partner of the JPO in the Southeast Asian region. This is a milestone in efforts to develop the PPH network, which contributes to the more expeditious and adequate acquisition of rights for inventions of business entities in participating countries.

1. Background

The expansion of global activities of business entities has resulted in the growing need for the acquisition of patent rights in a plurality of countries, leading to the situation where the same invention is filed at various Patent Offices in the world. Under such circumstances, the world has witnessed an upsurge in the number of patent filings, which poses the major challenge of reducing the workload of Patent Offices, especially the overlap of work related to the patent prosecution process. In light of the above, Japan has been partnering with other countries to promote the "Patent Prosecution Highway" (PPH) scheme that provides for a Patent Office to conduct an accelerated patent examination based on the examination results of another Office where the invention has already been determined to be patentable.

2. Pilot Program between Japan and Singapore

Since the conclusion of the Japan – Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement in 2002, economic ties between the two countries have been stronger than ever. Given the circumstances, the JPO attaches importance to the development of an environment that facilitates for business entities in both countries the acquisition of rights for inventions created through their inventive and innovative activities, with a view to further enhancing bilateral economic relations.

On June 16, the JPO and IPOS concurred that the PPH Pilot Program would be launched on July 1, 2009. The PPH Pilot Program is expected to enable users of the Singapore patent system to obtain patent rights expeditiously in Singapore for inventions granted patents in Japan, while allowing applicants to request accelerated examination in Japan, with a simplified procedure, for inventions determined to be patentable in Singapore.

In conjunction with the Japan – Singapore PPH Pilot Program, it is noted that Singapore has been undertaking an initiative to share patent examination results with ASEAN countries titled the "ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation" (ASPEC) Program. It is thus expected that the PPH arrangement with IPOS, which has been playing a central role in the initiative, will contribute to the sharing, not only with Singapore but also with the other ASEAN countries, of the examination results regarding inventions granted patents in Japan and will lead to the expeditious acquisition of stable rights in the region.

3. Towards the Worldwide Expansion of PPH

In 2006, the JPO concluded the world’s first PPH with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Since then, the JPO has been engaged in PPH programs with eight Patent Offices, namely, the Offices of the United States, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Russia, and Austria (listed in the order of launch), and these Offices including the JPO receive approximately 64% of the patent applications filed in the world. IPOS, with which the present PPH arrangement has been concluded, is the first PPH partner of the JPO in the Southeast Asian region. This is a milestone in efforts to develop the PPH network, which contributes to the more expeditious and adequate acquisition of rights for inventions of business entities in participating countries. The JPO intends to have talks with, inter alia, the European Patent Office (EPO), the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, and the Hungarian Patent Office towards the conclusion of PPH arrangements with those Offices.

Release Date

June 16, 2009

Division in Charge

  • International Affairs Division, Japan Patent Office
    Persons in charge: Mr. Omachi, Mr. Katagiri, and Mr. Hara
    Telephone: (81-3) 3581-1101 (ext. 2564), (81-3) 3503-4698 (direct)
  • Examination Policy Planning Office, First Patent Examination Department, Japan Patent Office
    Persons in charge: Mr. Yasuda and Mr. Imamura
    Telephone: (81-3) 3581-1101 (ext. 3103), (81-3) 3580-5898 (direct)