On September 1, 2013 the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China (SIPO) launched a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot project.

The pilot will run for two years ending on August 31, 2015, but may be extended as necessary. During the pilot, applicants will be able to request processing under the PPH free of charge.

In addition, as of October 1, 2013, CIPO’s PPH projects with Denmark and Korea are extended indefinitely, and the PPH pilot project with Japan is extended until September 30, 2016.

The requirements for processing under the PPH programs in Canada are:

  • The Canadian and foreign applications must be corresponding applications;
  • The foreign office must have indicated that at least one claim is allowable;
  • The claims of the Canadian application must correspond to those indicated as allowable;
  • The Canadian application must be open for public inspection; and
  • CIPO must have received a request for examination, but not yet started examination of the application.

Prosecution of applications under the PPH program is usually much accelerated when compared to regular examination in Canada.