The European Patent Office (EPO) and the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) have agreed to launch a joint Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme to enable work-sharing and accelerated treatment of patent applications at both offices. The agreement was signed on 27 April 2017.

Under the PPH pilot, which is expected to be launched in the second half of 2017 and run initially for 3 years, applicants whose claims have been found to be patentable by the EPO or the EAPO may ask for accelerated processing of their corresponding application at the other office. In addition, the PPH pilot enables offices to share existing work results, speeding up the granting process and reducing costs for the users.

In February 2017 the EPO has also launched a PPH pilot programme with the Russian Patent Office.

For further information please contact Mr Erik Goussev, Patent Attorney.

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EPO_News_27April2017
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