NBPR and KIPO to Pilot Patent Prosecution Highway

Martti Enäjärvi, President of the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland and Jung-Sik Koh, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office, signed the cooperation agreement for their respective organisations. (Photo: Eero Mantere)

Trial program to improve quality and pendency at both offices

The National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) jointly stated the intent to commence the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program on January 4, 2010 at the NBPR/KIPO Heads Meeting held in Geneve on September 23, 2009.

Under PPH agreements, if claims of an application have been found to be acceptable by a first intellectual property office, an accelerated examination can be requested at a second intellectual property office. In turn, the initiative will reduce examination workload and improve patent quality.

“The increasing number of patent applications pending, and the shortage of examining capacity cause great problems, which lead to prolonged processing times globally. The patent world must work on how to avoid overlapping work and on intensifying co-operation, which would save applicants’ time and money, and reduce the burden on patent offices. The new collaboration with KIPO will offer new tools for our clients in this important market area” says Mr. Martti Enäjärvi, President of NBPR.

Under the Patent Prosecution Highway, an applicant whose application filed with either the NBPR or the KIPO contains at least one allowable claim may request that the other office fast track the examination of corresponding claims in corresponding applications. Full requirements for participation in the trial program will be available prior to implementation at http://www.prh.fi/en/patentit/pph.html.

The objective of the trial is to gauge the interest of applicants and to assess the anticipated benefits to each office. The NBPR and KIPO will evaluate the results of the pilot program to determine whether the program should be fully implemented after the trial period, which is one year.

Mr. Pekka Launis
Vice President
E-mail: firstname.surname@ prh.fi
Tel: +358 9 6939 5443

Mr. Juha Rekola
Development Director
E-mail: firstname.surname@ prh.fi
Tel: +358 9 6939 5504

Dr. Ari Hirvonen
Patent Examiner
E-mail: firstname.surname@ prh.fi
Tel: +358 9 6939 5726