Notice Regarding the Elimination of the Fee for Petitions To Make Special Filed Under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programs

概要

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is eliminating the fee for the petition to make special under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programs. Currently, applicants must pay a petition fee under 37 CFR 1.17(h) to have an application to enter into the PPH program. With the elimination of the fee, applicants will no longer have to pay the petition to make special fee in order to request an application enter all current pilot and fully implemented PPH programs. The elimination of the petition fee will simplify the PPH requirements and is expected to encourage greater PPH participation. Since 2006, the USPTO has implemented the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programs with a number of patent offices as part of efforts to pursue work sharing to avoid duplication of work among patent offices, and for reducing its own pendency and backlog. Notices regarding the PPH programs are available on the USPTO Web site at: http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp. Until now, the PPH notices have indicated that a request for participation in the PPH program must be accompanied by a petition to make special under 37 CFR 1.102(d) along with the required petition fee