Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Programs start among Japan, USA and Europe early next year

Two meetings of heads of JPO, EPO and USPTO were held at KYOTO on November 12 and 13, 2009. One is the heads meeting of JPO and EPO, and other other is the heads meeting of JPO, USPTO and EPO. The followings were decided in the meetings.

1. The PPH (patent prosecution highway) pilot programs will start among the JPO, the EPO and the USPTO on January 29, 2010. This was decided at the meeting of the heads of the JPO and EPO (November 12), and the meeting of the heads of the JPO, the USPTO and the EPO, ((November 13)), which were held in Kyoto.
The PPH has already been launched between the JPO and the USPTO on January 4, 2008.

2. In the trilateral meeting, it was also decided that the early examination rule of the PPH applied to the PCT-based patent application, which had been determined to be patentable by the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority in any of the trilateral patent offices of Japan.
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Patent Prosecution Highway = PPH：
In this program, when a patent application is matured to the patent in a country, the examination of the corresponding patent application, which was filed in another country, is quickened upon request of the applicant. The programs enable the companies to quickly and easily obtain patent rights in other countries than those to which the companies belong.
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