The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
is a framework in which an application whose claims have been
determined to be patentable by an Office of Earlier Examination
(OEE) is eligible to go through an accelerated examination in an
Office of Later Examination (OLE) with a simple procedure upon an
applicant’s request. By leveraging the search and examination work
product of the OEE, PPH programs (1) deliver lower prosecution
costs, (2) support applicants in their efforts to obtain stable
patent rights efficiently around the world, and (3) reduce the
search and examination burden, while improving the examination
quality, of participating patent offices. Originally, the PPH
programs were limited to the utilization of search and examination
results of national applications between cross filings under the
Paris Convention. Later, the potential of the PPH was greatly
expanded by Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)-PPH programs, which
permit participating patent offices to draw upon the positive
results of the PCT work product from another participating office.
PCT-PPH programs use international written opinions and
international preliminary examination reports developed within the
framework of the PCT, thereby making the PPH available to a larger
number of applicants. Information collected for the PCT is approved
under the USPTO information collection, 0651-0021 (Patent
Cooperation Treaty). More recently, the USPTO and several other
offices acted to consolidate and replace existing PPH programs,
with the goal of streamlining the PPH process for both offices and
applicants. To that end, the USPTO and other offices established
the Global PPH pilot program and the IP5 PPH pilot program. Both
the Global PPH and the IP5 PPH pilot programs are running
concurrently and are substantially identical, differing only with
regard to their respective participating offices. The USPTO is
participating in both the Global PPH pilot program and the IP5 PPH
pilot program. For USPTO applications, the Global PPH and IP5 PPH
pilot programs supersede any prior PPH program between the USPTO
and each Global PPH and IP5 PPH participating office. Any existing
PPH programs between the USPTO and offices that are not
participating in either the Global PPH pilot program or the IP5 PPH
pilot program remain in effect. This information collection covers
data gathered through the Request for Participation in the Patent
Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program, which the public uses to
request an accelerated examination within the PPH
provisions.
PL:
Pub.L. 112 - 211 382 Name of Law: Patent Law Treaties
Implementation Act of 2012
Changes in Responses and Burden
Hours For this renewal, the USPTO estimates that the annual
responses will decrease by 1,030 (from 8,120 to 7,090) and the
total burden hours will decrease by 2,060 (from 16,240 to 14,180)
from the currently approved burden for this information collection.
These changes are due to an expected slight decrease in the number
of submissions under this program. Changes in Respondent Hourly
Cost Burden The total respondent cost burden for this information
collection has decreased by $1,432,360 (from $7,104,360 to
$5,672,000) from the previous renewal of this information
collection in 2018. These changes are due to the following
administrative adjustments: • Decrease in estimated hourly rates.
The 2018 renewal used an estimated rate of $438 per hour for
respondent to this information collection, which was an average of
the estimated attorney rate. For the current renewal, the USPTO is
using an updated hourly rate of $400. • Decrease in estimated
burden hours. The total estimated burden hours have decreased from
16,240 in the 2018 renewal to 14,180 for the current renewal due to
overall decreases in the estimated annual responses to this
information collection. No Changes in Annual (Non-hour) Costs For
this renewal, the USPTO estimates that there will be no changes in
the total annual (non-hour) costs. There are no annual (non-hour)
costs associated with this information collection.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Form PTO/SB/20TW Request for Participation in the PPH Program Between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and the USPTO (Individuals or Households)
0651-0058 Supporting Statement final.docx
112publ211 Hague Agreement.pdf
Information Quality Guidelines _ USPTO.html
Request for Participation in the PPH Program Between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and the USPTO (Individuals or Households)