Top > Press Releases > Back Issues > June 2010 > Expansion of Eligibility for Patent Prosecution Highway pilot program between the Japan Patent Office and the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland
The Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the National Board of Patents and Registration (NBPR) of Finland have been implementing the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program since April 20, 2009. To make the pilot more convenient to applicants, both offices will expand eligibility for the PPH on July 1, 2010. The improved program will better serve the convenience of applicants, because a greater number of Japanese applicants filing with the NBPR are expected to be granted accelerated examination.
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 with various patent offices. Under such circumstances, the world has witnessed an upsurge in the number of patent filings and a resultant increase in the duration of the examination period. This has created the major challenge of reducing the workload of patent offices by eliminating overlapping work.
To tackle this challenge, the JPO has been partnering with other offices to promote the PPH scheme, a framework whereby patent applicants whose applications have been found patentable by the Office of First Filing can request, through a simple procedure, an accelerated examination of corresponding applications in the Office of Second Filing based on the examination results of the Office of First Filing.
2. Expansion of eligibility for the Japan-Finland PPH
The JPO and the NBPR have been implementing the Japan-Finland PPH pilot program since April 20, 2009. To make the pilot more convenient to applicants, both offices will expand eligibility for the PPH on July 1, 2010. In addition to applications found patentable in domestic examination by the other office, which are the only eligible type of application under the current program, the expanded program will accept PCT applications* that have been identified as patentable based on international-phase documents (written opinions and international preliminary examination reports).
On January 29, 2010, the JPO launched a PPH program using international-phase documents for PCT applications (PCT-PPH) on a pilot basis only with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). The present commencement of the PCT-PPH pilot program with the NBPR is a follow-up to this first trial. The improved program will better serve the convenience of applicants, because a greater number of Japanese applicants filing with the NBPR are expected to be granted accelerated examination.
With a view to allowing applicants to obtain foreign patents faster, the JPO will continue efforts to expand the scope of countries and applications eligible for the PPH programs and to consolidate and simplify the procedures. The JPO expects that the use of examination results of other offices under the PPH programs will reduce the workload of patent examiners and make examination more effective.
* PCT applications are international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). By filing a single PCT application, an applicant can achieve the effect of simultaneously filing it in a plurality of PCT member states he/she designates. These international applications are examined for patentability by an International Searching Authority or an International Preliminary Examining Authority designated by PCT, with the results due to be published. Patent offices can refer to the opinions released by International Searching Authorities or International Preliminary Examining Authorities during their domestic examination procedures. Both the JPO and the NBPR are designated as International Searching Authorities and International Preliminary Examining Authorities.
<Detailed information on PPH programs >
http://www.jpo.go.jp/cgi/linke.cgi?url=/torikumi_e/t_torikumi_e/patent_highway_e.htm
Release Date
June 17, 2010
Division in Charge
Examination Policy Planning Office, Administrative Affairs Division, First Patent Examination Department, Japan Patent Office International Affairs Division, General Affairs Department, Japan Patent Office
