International survey on the Patent Prosecution Highway: We want to hear your views
How can the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme be tailored even more effectively to the needs of its users? Share your experiences and help us identify specific areas for improvement. An international online survey, initiated by several patent offices, aims to provide important insights in this regard. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) is responsible for the central coordination and evaluation of the survey.
The survey is aimed at patent applicants and patent professionals. Your feedback will help to document experiences with the PPH, identify areas for improvement and tailor the programme more closely to the needs of its users. Do you know anyone else in the patent sector who might be interested? Please feel free to pass on this call for responses and help ensure that as many perspectives as possible are taken into account.
Join in and share your views!
Take part in the international PPH survey now
What is the Patent Prosecution Highway programme?
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme enables the accelerated examination of patent applications under certain conditions. The programme promotes international cooperation and facilitates patent examination by allowing offices to draw on existing search and examination results without being bound by them. Further information is available on the PPH portal of the Japan Patent Office (JPO).
-
If you are seeking protection for your invention at the international level, an acceleration request under the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) may be an interesting option for you. This is a fast-track way to apply for and have your invention examined internationally. Participation in the GPPH at the DPMA is free of charge.
The prerequisite for participating is that you have already filed, at a GPPH partner office, a patent application with the same content and the same filing date or priority date. Furthermore, the office of first filing must have considered the invention to be patentable – at least for one patent claim. This means, for example, that you must have received a patent or a positive PCT search report.
Another option is to file a patent application simultaneously with several GPPH patent offices. As soon as one of these offices considers the invention to be patentable, you can request accelerated examination – of the same claims – at the other patent offices. You may have to submit patent claims that have been modified accordingly together with the request for accelerated examination. In that case, the offices can share their work and search results. However, they are not bound by the work results of the other offices.
Further information on the GPPH
- Framework provisions for the GPPH system and Annex B (GPPH pilot criteria) and Annex C (Fundamental principles of the GPPH system)
Offices taking part in the Patent Prosecution Highway
All national and regional patent offices can participate in the GPPH network. In addition to the DPMA, around 30 other patent offices worldwide participate in the programme. These can be found at Global PPH participating Offices. Please note: Since 1 September 2022, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) between the DPMA and the Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks of Russia (ROSPATENT) has been suspended, see Important notice dated 17 August 2022.
-
As the National Intellectual Property Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNIPA) does not participate in the GPPH, the DPMA maintains a bilateral PPH pilot programme with the CNIPA. The options available are basically the same as for the GPPH, with the only restriction that the PPH request cannot be based on a PCT search report.
Do you still have any questions?
If you have any further questions, please send an e-mail to info@dpma.de or call us on +49 89 2195-1000 (Customer Care and Services).