The Patent Prosecution Highway in Conjunction With the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office

Under the Patent Prosecution Highway, an applicant receiving a ruling from either the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO) or the USPTO that at least one claim in an application is patentable may request that the other office fast track the examination of corresponding claims in corresponding applications. The Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage fast-track patent examination procedures already available in both offices to allow applicants in both countries to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently.

The trial period was set to expire 04 September 2008, but the USPTO has decided to extend the PPH pilot program until further notice.  The USPTO and UKIPO will evaluate the results of the pilot program periodically to determine whether and how the program should be fully implemented at a later date.

>> View the Press Release #07-37 (04 SEP 2007) announcing the pilot program.

>> View the UK IPO Press Release (04 SEP 2007) announcing the pilot program.

Patent Prosecution Highway Requests to USPTO

• Fillable Form SB/20 UK (Patent Prosecution Highway Request Form) [PDF]
• Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (signed 30 August 2007) [PDF]
• Revised Requirements for Requesting Participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program in the USPTO (Between the USPTO and the UK IPO) (signed 14 January 2008) [PDF] (Please note that "PPH.PET.652" referred to in the notice is a doc code for internal use only. The PPH request and the supporting documents (except for preliminary amendments and IDS) must be indexed as “Petition to make special under Patent Pros Hwy".)
• Extension of the Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between the USPTO and the UKIPO (signed 29 August 2008) [PDF]

Patent Prosecution Highway Requests to UK IPO

• How to make a request (published by the UK IPO, includes links to request form and to request checklist)

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