The Egyptian Patent Office (EGYPO) and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) began a two-year Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program on June 1, 2015. The PPH allows an application that has been determined to be patentable in the JPOto undergo an accelerated examination in the EGYPO with a simple procedure upon the applicant’s request.
The PPH program utilizes the PCT international work products (PCT-PPH) on the pilot basis. Through the PPH, an accelerated examination may be requested through a written opinion established by the International Searching Authorities, a written opinion established by the International Preliminary Examining Authorities or an international preliminary examination report established by the International Preliminary Examining Authorities.
PPH requirements and procedures according to the JPO are:
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Required Documents except a PPH request form |
Fundamental Requirements |
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1. The Office of Second Filing (OSF) application is in particular relationship with the Office of First Filing (OFF) application* (e.g. The OSF application is an application which validly claims priority under Paris Convention to the OFF application) 2. OFF application has at least one claim that was determined by the OFF to be allowable 3. All the claims in OSF application sufficiently correspond to the allowable/patentable claims in OFF applications 4. The examination has not begun in the OSF (This requirement doesn’t exist in some offices.)
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What you need to know: |
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Documents 2-4 may be omitted in some cases |
*If the PPH adopts the PPH MOTTAINAI[1], PPH request is eligible, whether or not the office which provides the examination results is the OFF |
[1] Mottainai (ã‚‚ã£ãŸã„ãªã„) is a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret concerning waste. It reflects is a cultural practice that is still present in Japanese culture, which has been adopted internationally.
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