The Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) and the Eurasian Patent Organization (EAPO) agreed in April 2020 to launch a joint Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Programme to enable work-sharing and accelerated treatment of patent applications at both offices. The three-year pilot period started on 1 August 2020.
By filing one single patent application with the EAPO, you can obtain a patent in all the countries that have joined the Eurasian Patent Convention (EAPC). The agreement between the EAPO and the PRH will cover both national and PCT applications.
The objective of the PPH is to speed up the processing of patent applications and to reduce overlapping examination work done by different patent offices. Under the PPH Programme, an applicant who has filed a first application with a first office, and has received a positive opinion that the claims are allowable may request fast-track processing when filing a corresponding application with a second office.
In addition, the PPH pilot enables offices to share existing work results and reduce costs for the users.
Currently, the EAPO has ongoing bilateral PPH Pilot Programmes with the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Chinese Patent Office (SIPO), and the Korean Patent Office (KIPO).
For further information, please contact our Patent Attorney Erik Viik.
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