Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) between the SIC and the JPO

The Superintendency of Industry and Commerce and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) signed today the PPH program (Patent Prosecution Highway).

With the signature of todays Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation, JPO become the third Office that has entered into this kind of programs with SIC. The first two offices were the USA Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) Spanish Patent and Trademark Office and (OEPM) in 2012 and 2013 respectively. The PPH speeds up the examination process for corresponding applications filed in participating countries by allowing examiners to reuse search and examination results.
The PPH will begin on the fist of September of 2014 and will be valid for a period of five years, renewable automatically for successive periods.

In the light of the foregoing, the applicants who have filed a patent before the SIC and JPO, and have obtained the patent in Colombia may request PPH (fast examination) to the JPO.

SIC will publish both in English and Spanish the requirements for requesting PPH before the SIC and the JPO.