New Patent Prosecution Highway pilot arrangement between the Canadian Intellectual Property Office and the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office

A new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot arrangement, implemented by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), will commence on February 1, 2018, for a period of three years, ending on January 31, 2021.

Under the new arrangement, applicants whose claims have been found to be patentable by either TIPO or CIPO may request accelerated processing of their corresponding applications that are pending before the other office.

This PPH pilot arrangement allows applicants at TIPO and CIPO to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently. The PPH arrangement also permits TIPO and CIPO to benefit from work previously done by each other's patent office, in turn, reducing examination workload and improving patent quality.

CIPO's goal for all PPH arrangements is to provide a first office action (allowance or first substantive report) within 90 days from receipt of the PPH request. CIPO has noted that approximately 34 percent of PPH applications are allowed without an office action, which is significantly higher than for non–PPH national applications (3 percent). This represents a savings of time and effort for both CIPO and our clients.

CIPO will continue to process requests for advanced prosecution under the PPH program, free of charge. Regular fees (Schedule II of the Patent Rules) for requesting examination will continue to apply.

For more information, visit the PPH web page, or contact the PPH coordinator.

New PPH request form

A new PPH request form is now available. You can use the new form for requests under the Global PPH or one of CIPO's bilateral PPH programs.

For more information on how to submit a PPH request, visit CIPO's PPH web page.