On Monday, the USPTO announced its latest Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program, the latest being an initiative with the European Patent Office (EPO). According to the USPTO announcement (link below), “[t]he Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage fast-track patent examination procedures already available in both offices to allow applicants to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently,” and “[i]t also will permit each office to exploit the work previously done by the other office and reduce duplication.” This program will benefit applicants having applications filed with the USPTO and the EPO where at least one allowable claim exists, as an applicant may then request that the application with the allowed claim be “fast tracked” for examination with the remaining claims in the other patent office. As noted within the EPO announcement (link below), Alison Brimelow, President of the EPO, stated that “[b]eing prepared to “utilize” work is both rational and essential if the patent system is to keep its head above water,” and that “[e]xploring the implications of projects like PPH is very important.” Additional information on this and other joint patent office initiatives may be found at the Website of the Trilateral Co-operation (link below).

USPTO Announcement: LINK
EPO Announcement: LINK
Website of the Trilateral Co-operation: LINK