Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
Apply for PPH
Form: Request for participation in the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program (PDF)
NB: The PDF form must be filled out by hand, not online. It cannot be saved.
The form i also available in Word format.
About PPH
The PPH scheme is a cooperation agreement between patent authorities concerning use of each other's statements on patentability, in their own assessment.
PPH has been devised to meet the needs of patent applicants for faster processing of applications, as well as the wish of the patent authorities to cooperate more in order to ensure quality and efficiency in the processing of patent applications.
PPH processing allows a patent applicant to request faster processing of his application by a patent authority, when a previous patent authority has already found the corresponding claims to be patentable. PPH processing can only be done on the basis of a patentability assessment made by a cooperating patent authority; an assessment from other patent authorities cannot be used.
When PPH processing is carried out, any searches or assessments that have already been done, will be used further in the process. An independent national examination will however still be carried out according to national legislation and practice.
The Norwegian Industrial Property Office aims to start case processing and send the first written opinion within 3 months after the application for PPH processing has been submitted.
In an application for PPH processing, the patent claims must be equivalent to or narrower in scope than the claims assessed by the other patent authority as patentable. If we have already started processing an application, the PPH scheme can not be used.
There is no fee for PPH in Norway.
Global PPH (GPPH)
Patent authorities participating in the Global PPH system as of 1st January 2020. The Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO) and Nordic Patent Institute (NPI) are amongst these.
Participating authorities:
More information concerning Global PPH is available on the following websites:
PPH program between Norway and China
From 1 April 2020, a pilot agreement on PPH between Norway and China is in force. This agreement has been continued from 1 April 2023.
Procedures to file a request to the CNIPA for PPH Pilot Program between CNIPA and NIPO (PDF)
Procedures to file a request to the NIPO for PPH Pilot Program between CNIPA and NIPO (PDF)
PPH and PCT
Some of the cooperating patent authorities are also PCT authorities. Positive search reports from these international PCT authorities can be used by national authorities included in the PPH scheme and vice-versa.
Any questions?
Send an e-mail to Ingrid Mautitzen, leader Patent Law Section, e-mail: inm@patentstyret.no