Hungarian and Japanese PTO Sign Agreement to Facilitate Granting of Patents

On June 30, 2009, the Hungarian and Japanese patent offices signed a bilateral agreement to accelerate and facilitate the granting of patents.

The agreement was signed in Budapest by Takashi Suzuki, head of the Japanese Patent Office, and his Hungarian counterpart, Miklós Bendzsel.

As part of this agreement, on August 3, 2009, the two patent offices will launch a pilot project entitled the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).

According to the Hungarian PTO, the aim of the project is to help all those who wish to acquire protection for one single patent in multiple countries, to acquire it at the same time and more efficiently.

Faster and more efficient performance is expected during patent granting procedures. Granting of a patent in Hungary on the basis of a PPH request should not take more than four to five months.

The PPH project was initiated by Japan. The idea has already been applied by other patent offices throughout the world, including the European Patent Office (EPO).

For more information, please contact Jovana Miocinovic in our Balkan Regional Office.