Patent Prosecution Highway for PCT
A Patent Prosecution Highway (“PPH”) request can be filed at the USPTO in any national stage application, regardless of the nature of the priority claim in the parent Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”) application, provided there is a PPH agreement between the USPTO and the International Searching Authority (“ISA”) used in the PCT application. Presently, there are PPH agreements between the USPTO and each of the European Patent Office, the Nordic Patent Institute, and the intellectual property offices in Australia, Austria, China, Finland, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Spain, and Sweden.
Expediting Patent Examination
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) offers several programs for expediting patent examination. Here are some examples:
Prioritized Examination (Track I)
Track I can be initiated (i) at the time of filing a patent application, (ii) at the time of filing a request for continued examination in a patent application, or (iii) after filing a request for continued examination (RCE) in a patent application but before receiving a first office action after the filing of the RCE. Non-provisional utility or plant applications filed under 35 USC 111(a) are eligible.
