European Applications set on the Patent Prosecution Highway
Date:
30 June, 2016
On 1 July 2016, the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program between the Australian Patent Office and the European Patent Office (EPO) begins.
If you have related patent applications in Australia (inc. a PCT application) and the EPO, a favourable examination report of one application can be used to accelerate the examination of the counterpart application. As patent examination at the EPO is typically much slower than at the Australian Patent Office, the new PPH program could be beneficial if you have obtained a favourable Australian examination report.
More information is provided by the Australian Patent office here.
Alternatively, please contact one of our patent attorneys for more information.