Move your national and international patent applications into the fast lane with the Patent Prosecution Highway

In Canada, access to the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) is now available through the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).

The PPH allows patent applicants in one country to fast-track the examination of eligible patent applications in another country.

Under PPH agreements, if the "claims" (that is, the definition of the scope of protection sought) of a patent application have been found to be acceptable by a first intellectual property office (whether that office is in Canada or in a participating country), accelerated examination can be requested for the corresponding application at a second intellectual property office (again whether that office is in Canada or in a participating country).

PPH applications meet conditions of allowance faster and with three times fewer office actions (reports that outline patent examiners' objections to the application) than non-PPH applications.

Increased speed and improved rates of acceptance

On average, CIPO issues a final decision on a PPH application within 5.9 months of a request for its examination, compared with 42.7 months for a regular request—that's seven times faster!

In 2010–11, every PPH application CIPO examined was granted a patent, compared with only 50 percent of regular applications.

See statistical data on PPH requests of all participating countries.

Agreements with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office

Currently, CIPO has:

• An indeterminate PPH agreement with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
• PPH pilot agreements with the following intellectual property and patent offices:
  • The Danish Patent and Trademarks Office (DKPTO);
  • The German Patent and Trademarks Office (DPMA);
  • The Japan Patent Office (JPO);
  • The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO);
  • The National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR); and
  • The Spain Patent and Trademarks Office (SPTO) (Site in Spanish only).
• A Patent Cooperation Treaty—Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH) pilot agreement based on PCT work products that CIPO established in its role as the International Searching Authority (ISA) and/or the International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA).

Costs and Contact Information

CIPO processes PPH applications at no additional charge beyond the regular fees that apply to an examination request. For further information on the PPH, visit CIPO's Patent Prosecution Highway web page or contact the PPH Coordinator.