Office Order No.1 5
Series of 2015
Subject:
••/ !Ill
- 10 0
Implementation of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot
Program Between the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines
(IPOPHL) & the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)
On 1 May 2015, the IPOPHL has commenced the PPH & PCT-PPH Pilot Program
with KIPO. The PPH Pilot Program will be implemented for an initial period of two (2) years,
or until 30 April 2017, subject for review and renewal as will be agreed upon by both IP
Offices .
The IPOPHL-KIPO PPH follows the PPH Mottainai Program, which is similar with the
guidelines adopted for the IPOPHL-JPO PPH. Applicants with corresponding patent
applications filed in KIPO and IPOPHL can avail for preferential examination by filing a PPH
Request and relevant documents prescribed in the corresponding guidelines.
Inquiries and specific questions about this notice and PPH should be directed to Ms.
Gloria T. Salvado or Ms. Cristina P. De Guzman of the Bureau of Patents at telephone
number (+63-2) 238-6300 loc. 407 or via email [email protected] or
cristina.deguzman@ipophil .gov.ph.
This Order shall take effect on 1 May 2015.
For guidance.
A~UCES
OIClDeputy Director General
Republic of the Philippines
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
Intellectual Property Center , 28 Upper McKinley Road, McKinley Hill Town Center
Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City 1634 Philippines
T: +632-2386300 e F: +632-5539480 ewww .ipoph il.gov.ph
IPOPHL Commences Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program with Korean
Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) now accepts PPH Requests
under the IPOPHL-KIPO PPH Pilot Program.
Applicants with corresponding patent
applications in IPOPHL and KIPO can now file a request for preferential examination under this
Program in either offices following a prescribed procedure and with submission of relevant
documents on the application. This program is available for applications filed under the Paris
Route and PCT route.
The PPH Program is part of a global effort to initiate work-sharing and reduce
redundancy of work in IP Offices, and is now being participated by 33 countries that includes
modern IP Offices of more advanced countries such as the United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO).
PPH provides a framework whereby patent applicants whose applications have been
determined allowable by a patent office are entitled to request, through a simple procedure, an
accelerated or preferential examination of the corresponding applications in another patent
office based on the issued examination results. Applicants can benefit from faster prosecution
of their applications and acquisition of higher quality patent rights.
It may be recalled that IPOPHL through its then Director General, Atty . Ricardo
Blancaflor, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Korean Intellectual
Property Office (KIPO) Commissioner Kim Young-min in Manila, Philippines, on 9 April 2014 for
the implementation of a IPOPHL-KIPO Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program . Both
Offices agreed to implement the pilot program for an initial period of two (2) years, starting on 1
May 2015 up to 30 April 2017, subject for review and renewal as will be agreed upon by both IP
Offices. A copy of the complete set of guidelines and request form of the IPOPHL-KIPO PPH
can be downloaded here (Link to Office Order with guidelines and requ est form).