MYIPO HAS STARTED PILOT A PPH/PCT-PPH PROGRAM WITH CNIPA
We are pleased to inform all of our clients and associates that effective from 1 July 2018, the Intellectual Property Corporation of Malaysia (MyIPO) has started a pilot Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program with the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA). The pilot program will be for a period of three years i.e. until 30 June 2020.
The PPH program with CNIPA will enable sharing of search and examination results between the MyIPO and CNIPA with the aim to accelerate examination of a corresponding patent application allowing the application to grant in a faster and efficient manner.
Via the PPH program, patent applicants may request for accelerated examination of an application in a Patent Office by submitting the search reports or certificates of grant of the corresponding patent applications filed in the other Patent Office. By doing so, the other Patent Office may allow the corresponding patent applications to proceed to allowance as the first Patent Office has considered the patentability of the claims.
We therefore encourage our clients and associates to use this initiative to expedite their Malaysian patent applications if their corresponding Chinese applications have been given positive search and examination reports or granted by the CNIPA.
At this moment, MyIPO has started the PPH program with the Japanese Patent Office and the European Patent Office and we are confident that MyIPO will extend the PPH program with other reputed Patent Offices in the near future.