The Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) agreed to continue cooperation on the Patent Prosecution Highway Program on the permanent basis as of May 1, 2020.
This mutual decision is based on the positive evaluation of the efficiency of the Pilot Program in previous years and confidence in the quality of the examination in both Offices.
EAPO and JPO initially commenced the PPH Pilot Program on February 15, 2013 with 3-year term, which was later prolonged in 2016 and in 2019.
The PPH Program provides for accelerated patent examination procedure in one of the participating Offices, using results of the search and examination conducted in the other participating Office.
Along with JPO, EAPO runs PPH Pilot Programs with the European Patent Office (EPO), the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO).
