In association with the European Patent Office (EPO) our Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program leverages fast-track patent examination procedures so you can obtain patents faster and more efficiently.
Under the PPH, a patent applicant who has received a ruling that at least one claim in an application is patentable/allowable will be able to fast track examination of a corresponding application filed with the other PPH partner office.
Through this, IP Australia and the EPO will be able to exploit the work previously done by the other office.
The IP Australia-EPO PPH program covers both Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and Paris Route applications. A PPH request can be based either
- on a PCT work product (written opinion or International Preliminary Report on Patentability) or
- on national examination.
Where this work product is determined to have one or more claims which are deemed patentable/allowable.
Where our work product contains one or more claims that are determined to be patentable/allowable you may request participation in the PPH program through the EPO. The procedures and requirements for filing a request with the EPO are available.
Requirements for participation in the IP Australia-EPO PPH in Australia
pph_requirements_and_procedures.pdf
pph_requirements_and_procedures.pdf
in PDF format [138.01 KB]
Request for participation in the IP Australia-EPO PPH Program
Please complete either of the following forms when requesting accelerated examination of your patent application under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program:
- PPH - apply online using our online services
- PPH – Request Form (and submit this form via post).