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USPTO Alert

Philippines IP Office now an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority available to U.S. applicants under the Patent Cooperation Treaty

New eight-year arrangement goes into effect March 6, 2024

USPTO Director Kathi Vidal and IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba sign an agreement adding the Philippines IP Office to the Patent Cooperation Treaty. USPTO/Jay Premack

With the March 6 signing of an arrangement by USPTO Director Kathi Vidal and the Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Rowel S. Barba, patent applicants have a new option for their choice of an International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The new arrangement, signed by the two intellectual property (IP) office leaders at USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, designates the IPOPHL as an ISA and IPEA under the Patent Cooperation Treaty for international applications filed with the USPTO as the IP Office receiving the application.

The IPOPHL will act as an ISA provided that (1) the application is submitted in English, (2) the IPOPHL is chosen as a competent authority by the applicant, and (3) the IPOPHL has not received more than 75 international applications from the USPTO during any fiscal quarter. The IPOPHL will also act as an IPEA if these three requirements are met and the IPOPHL acted as the ISA.

With this addition, U.S. patent applicants may now elect the USPTO; the European Patent Office; the Korean Intellectual Property Office; IP Australia; the Israel Patent Office; the Japan Patent Office; the Singapore Patent Office; or the IPOPHL as the ISA or IPEA.

“We welcome the addition of the IP Office of the Philippines to the growing network of IP Offices working together to provide a more seamless experience for global patent applicants under the Patent Cooperation Treaty,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal. “Through the PCT, U.S. applicants may file a single international patent application in multiple countries, simplifying the process of protecting their innovations across the world,”

The arrangement between the IPOPHL and the USPTO goes into effect as of the date of signing and will continue for eight years.

For more information about the PCT and international patent applications, visit the USPTO website.

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