USPTO and Russia Begin Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks of the Russian Federation (ROSPATENT) have agreed to partner in establishing a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program. PPH agreements are cooperative initiatives that streamline the patent system and promote expeditious, inexpensive and high-quality patent protection throughout the world. The USPTO and ROSPATENT plan to launch the pilot program on September 1, 2010, and continue it for a period of one year.

“As the USPTO and other patent offices throughout the world face challenges of increased patent filings and growing backlogs, it is important that we work together to find ways to streamline processing and avoid redundancy,”said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos. “The Patent Prosecution Highway program is an important step toward the goal of maximizing reutilization of work done by other offices. PPH has shown that through cooperation with other patent offices, genuine time and cost savings can be reached that benefit both applicants and offices. We look forward to starting a pilot PPH program with ROSPATENT.”

Director General of ROSPATENT Dr. Simonov added, “The development of PPH would undoubtedly have synergetic result because such system will provide the impulse for solution of tasks related to further development of the PCT by interactions between the PPH and the PCT, decreasing of backlogs of unexamined patent applications as well as establishing international standards of carrying out patent search and examination.”

Under PPH agreements, an applicant receiving a favorable ruling from one nation’s patent office on at least one claim in an application may request that the corresponding application filed with the other nation be fast tracked for examination. By coordinating patentable results between both nations’ offices, applicants can expect to obtain patents in both nations more quickly.

USPTO requirements for participation in the USPTO- ROSPATENT PPH program are available at:

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/pph_ru.jsp

ROSPATENT requirements for participation can be found at:

http://www.fips.ru/sitedocs/PPH_US_RU_Eng.pdf

The USPTO and ROSPATENT will continue to evaluate the needs of applicants and the progress of the PPH. Discussions on revisions to the requirements and to improve the procedure of the PPH will be ongoing.

The pilot program may be extended if necessary to adequately assess the feasibility of a permanent PPH program. Notification of any revisions will be posted on the Web sites of each office.

For non-press inquiries contact Magdalen Greenlief at 571-272-8850 or at Magdalen.Greenlief (at) uspto.gov.

Share

Warning & Disclaimer: The pages, articles and comments on IPWatchdog.com do not constitute legal advice, nor do they create any attorney-client relationship. The articles published express the personal opinion and views of the author as of the time of publication and should not be attributed to the author’s employer, clients or the sponsors of IPWatchdog.com.

Join the Discussion

One comment so far.

  • [Avatar for patent litigation]
    patent litigation
    August 31, 2010 04:38 pm

    The continued global expansion of the PPH is welcome news. Any measure that promises to increase efficiency in the patent application process, reduce the backlog, and improve international cooperation is a positive development.
    http://smallbusiness.aol.com/2010/05/10/how-to-file-a-patent/