Russia and Finland Launch Patent Prosecution Highway

On December 8, 2010, the representatives of Russia’s Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (Rospatent) and the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR) signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Piloting of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program, aimed at accelerating the patent granting procedure by sharing information between patent offices. The program’s start date is March 1, 2011.

The PPH agreements allow each participating patent office to benefit from the search and examination work already done by the other office. For example, an applicant that received a favorable ruling from one patent office on at least one claim in the application may request a fast-track examination of the corresponding application filed with the other patent office. The applicants thus benefit from patentability determination in multiple jurisdictions and reduced costs of prosecution.

For more information, please contact Jelena Jankovic at our Balkan Regional Office.

Source: Rospatent