Examination Policy Planning Office
The JPO has commenced the PPH programs using the PCT international work products (PCT-PPH) on pilot basis since 29 January 2010 with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the European Patent Office (EPO). From 1 July 2010, the JPO commence the PCT-PPH pilot program with National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR).
Under these programs, an accelerated examination can be requested using a written opinion established by certain International Searching Authorities (WO/IPA) or an international preliminary examination report (IPER) established by certain International Preliminary Examining Authorities.
The applicant can request participation in the PCT-PPH where any of the following Offices is the chosen International Searching Authority or International Preliminary Examining Authority:
The Japan Patent Office (JPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO) and the National Board of Patent and Registration of Finland (NBPR)
【Major requirements for the participation in PCT-PPH】
(1)At least one claim is determined/indicated to be allowable/patentable*1 in WO/ISA, WO/IPEA*2 or IPER
(2)All claims on file for examination under the PCT-PPH sufficiently correspond to those claims determined/indicated to be allowable/patentable in WO/ISA, WO/IPEA*2 or IPER
(3)Examination of the application which the PCT-PPH is requested for has not been begun
*1 Claim(s) are indicated to have novelty, inventive step and industrial applicability (explanation by applicant is necessary where any observation is described in Box VIII). See guidelines below for further details.
*2 Not eligible when filing with the EPO.
PCT-PPH guidelines and request forms where the JPO is the chosen International Searching Authority (ISA) or International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) are listed below. (See also each PPH program’s page. When filing a PCT-PPH request with the JPO based on other Office’s PCT international work products, see guidelines and request forms listed under “Patent Prosecution Highway Requests to the JPO” on each PPH program’s page.)
PCT-PPH where the JPO is the ISA or IPEA
・Requests to the JPO
Guideline (Requirements and procedures in detail) (Japanese <PDF 195KB>) (English <PDF 215KB>)
Request form (Explanation of circumstances concerning accelerated examination)
・Requests to the USPTO
Guideline (Requirements and procedures in detail) (Japanese <PDF 202KB>) (English <PDF 4,418KB>)
Request form Request form of USPTO <PDF 664KB>
・Requests to the EPO
Guideline (Requirements and procedures in detail) (Japanese <PDF 170KB>) (English <HTML version>) (German, English and French <PDF version>)
Request form (EPC proceedings - forms)
・Requests to the NBPR
Guideline (Requirements and procedures in detail) (Japanese <PDF 261KB>) (English <PDF 151KB>)
Request form (Microsoft® Word version <DOC 39KB>)
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- <Contact Information>
- Examination Policy Planning Office
- Administrative Affairs Division
- First Patent Examination Department
- Japan Patent Office
- Tel: +81-3-3581-1101 (ex. 3103)
- E-mail: PA2260@jpo.go.jp
[Last updated 30 June 2010]
