Patent Prosecution Highway Between USPTO and UKIPO (Pilot)
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 (UKIPO) 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.
As of May 25, 2010, the USPTO has eliminated the fee for the petition to make special under the PPH programs.
Starting on January 29, 2012, for a period of one year ending on January 29, 2013, the USPTO has implemented PPH 2.0 by simplifying the PPH requirements and procedures in a consolidated and user-friendly framework, while at the same time ensuring that work sharing benefits to the USPTO are not diminished. It is important to note that PPH 2.0 has only been implemented with respect to the USPTO at this time, i.e., unilaterally.
Preliminary Progress Report for USPTO-UKIPO Work Sharing Initiative (Released April 18, 2012)
On November 10, 2010, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) commenced a program for reutilizing each other’s search and examination work products on corresponding patent applications to assess the benefits of work sharing between the two offices.
Patent Prosecution Highway Requests to USPTO
Fillable Form SB/20 UK (Patent Prosecution Highway Request Form) [PDF]
Patent Prosecution Highway Requests to UKIPO
How to make a request (published by the UKIPO, includes links to request form and to request checklist)
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