What is the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)

What is the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)?

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is an accelerated patent examination program that enables applicants to save time and costs in participating countries. This mechanism allows an applicant to rely on a favorable patentability examination result issued by the first Patent Office (Office of Earlier Examination, OEE) to request accelerated examination before another Patent Office (Office of Later Examination, OLE) where the same application is pending, provided there is correspondence between the claims of both applications.

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) avoids duplication of efforts between offices, expedites grant procedures, and improves efficiency in protecting inventions.

Which Andean countries participate in the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)?

Peru and Colombia are parties to various Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements, as detailed below:

Peru:

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Patent Offices of the Pacific Alliance Member States (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Peru)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Japan Patent Office (JPO)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Patent Offices of the Member States of the Forum for the Progress of South America (PROSUR), specifically Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Peru
The Global Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), comprising 27 countries
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the European Patent Office (EPO)

Colombia:

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Japan Patent Office (JPO)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the European Patent Office (EPO)
The Global Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), comprising 27 countries
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Patent Offices of the Pacific Alliance Member States (Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Peru)
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) with the Patent Offices of the Member States of PROSUR, specifically Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Peru.

Ecuador and Bolivia are not part of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program.

Is the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Mottainai applicable in Peru and Colombia?

Yes, both Peru and Colombia participate in the The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Mottainai program.

The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Mottainai allows applicants to leverage the patentability examination issued by the Office of Earlier Examination regardless of whether that office was the one where the first application was filed.

Relevant statistics for Peru and Colombia

For Peru (INDECOPI), the number of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) requests filed with the Peruvian Patent Office as the Office of Earlier Examination has averaged slightly more than one request per year since 2017.

Conversely, when the Peruvian Patent Office acts as the Office of Later Examination, the number of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) requests has ranged from a minimum of 10 to a maximum of 50 in 2023, with a historical average of slightly more than 31 requests.

The situation in Colombia (SIC) differs in both scenarios. As the Office of Earlier Examination, the Colombian Patent Office has recorded peaks of up to 18 requests in 2021, with an average significantly higher than Peru’s.

Likewise, when acting as the Office of Later Examination, Colombia has reached peaks of up to 116 requests, with a historical average of 64.5 requests.