The Patent Prosecution Highway in Conjunction With the National Institute of Industrial Property of Argentina (INPI-Argentina)
Under this pilot program of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), an applicant who receives a positive ruling on a patent claim(s) from either the INPI-Argentina or the USPTO may request accelerated prosecution of a corresponding claim(s) in the other office. The PPH allows the applicant to obtain a patentability decision in the office of later examination (OLE) more quickly. Furthermore, the PPH promotes patent application processing efficiency by allowing the examiner in the OLE to reuse the search and examination results from the office of earlier examination, thereby reducing workload and duplication of effort.
As of May 25, 2010, the USPTO has eliminated the fee for the petition to make special under the PPH programs.
The trial period for this PPH pilot program between the USPTO and the INPI-Argentina commenced on March 3, 2017, and will run for a period of three years ending on March 2, 2020. The trial period may be extended if necessary to adequately assess the feasibility of the PPH program. Both offices will continually evaluate the results of the PPH program to determine whether and how the program should be modified. The offices also may terminate the PPH program early if the volume of participation exceeds a manageable level, or for any other reason. Notice will be published if the PPH program will be terminated. Unless the INPI-Argentina becomes a Global PPH participating office, any extension or termination of the Global/IP5 PPH program will have no effect on this PPH pilot program.
Patent Prosecution Highway Requests to USPTO
Fillable Form SB/20AR (Patent Prosecution Highway Request Form) [PDF]
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program Between the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the National Institute of Industrial Property of Argentina (signed 13 February 2017)