Patent Prosecution Highway between the UK and South Korea
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot procedure allows you to request accelerated examination of your patent application if you have received an examination report by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) for the same invention. Similarly, under the PPH pilot you can request accelerated examination at the KIPO if we have already conducted the examination of your patent and you have filed an application relating to the same invention in South Korea.
You will need to submit the search and examination reports from the KIPO relating to your invention, amongst other information, in order for us to perform an accelerated examination of your application. This will allow us to benefit from work previously done by the KIPO, which in turn will reduce the examination workload and improve patent quality.
The PPH with the KIPO was launched on 1 October 2009. The pilot was initially scheduled to run for a year and has now been extended indefinitely.
For further information or advice on requesting accelerated examination under the PPH please contact Charles Jarman +44 (0) 1633 814782 or e-mail PPH@ipo.gov.uk.