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ARTICLE · 13 DECEMBER 2011

The Examination Express Lane: Recent Developments And Updates On The PPH

Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programs are bilateral, work-sharing programs between patent offices designed to expedite examination and improve patent quality.

United StatesIntellectual Property
Jeff Shieh
Jeff Shieh

Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programs are bilateral, work-sharing programs between patent offices designed to expedite examination and improve patent quality. In recent years, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has entered into multiple PPHs with foreign patent offices, and over 5000 applicants have elected to participate in a PPH. The benefits of PPH participation are obvious; PPH applications witness significant decreases in pendency time and increases in their allowance rates, as well as decreased costs of prosecution.

Although the total number of PPH participants is just a drop in the bucket compared to the total number of filed applications, I believe that as patent backlog and legal fees rise, the PPH will increase in popularity. And in today's marketplace where technology can become obsolete in months, not years, an applicant should do anything he/she can to procure a patent quickly.

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