Patent Prosecution Highway between the UK and United States
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot procedure allows you to request accelerated examination of your patent application if you have received an examination report by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for the same invention. Similarly, under the PPH pilot you can request accelerated examination at the USPTO if we have already conducted the examination of your patent and you have filed an application relating to the same invention in the United States.
You will need to submit the search and examination reports from the USPTO relating to your invention, amongst other information, in order for us to perform an accelerated examination of your application. This will allow us to benefit from work previously done by the USPTO, which in turn will reduce the examination workload and improve patent quality.
The PPH with the USPTO was launched on 4 September 2007. The pilot was initially scheduled to run for a year and following a successful one year trial period the PPH pilot has been rolled-on indefinitely.
For further information or advice on requesting accelerated examination under the PPH please contact Charles Jarman +44 (0)1633 814782 or email PPH@ipo.gov.uk