PATENT PROSECUTION HIGHWAY (PPH) PILOT PROGRAMME BETWEEN THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF SINGAPORE AND THE EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has announced the commencement of a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme with the European Patent Office. The pilot programme commenced on 6 January 2015 and will run for a period of three years, ending on 6 January 2018.
Under this PPH pilot programme, applicants who have patent applications filed in Singapore and Europe for the same invention, can accelerate examination at either IPOS or EPO based on the first available examination results. As with other PPH programmes in Singapore, in order to meet the requirements for PPH and accelerated examination, at least one patent claim must have been found to be patentable or allowable in the first available examination results relied upon.
The full list of requirements and procedures for filing a PPH at IPOS or EPO are detailed on the IPOS website.
The PPH pilot programme with EPO adds to the extensive list of PPH arrangements that IPOS current has with Global PPH, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property of the United Mexican States, and the German Patent and Trade Mark Office.