We all know that examination and prosecution of a patent application is a long and tedious process that may take years to complete. Typically, the first Office Action reporting the findings of the merit examination of a patent application in the Philippines issues three (3) years from the filing or national phase entry date. The prosecution of the patent application may then take about one (1) to (2) years from the firs Office Action. Given this long period before the patent is granted, patent applicants should consider availing of the Patent Prosecution Highway or the Asean Patent Examination Co-operation Program to fast track their patent.
The Philippine Intellectual Property Office has existing Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program/agreement with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Japan Patent Office, Korean Intellectual Property Office and the European Union Patent Office which may be availed of by patent applications. An applicant may request for accelerated examination under the PPH if the corresponding foreign applications in said countries/jurisdictions are indicated to be patentable/allowable.
An applicant may also opt to file a request for accelerated examination under the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC) Program in which Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam are participating countries. ASPEC is a program for IP Offices from participating ASEAN member states (AMS) to utilize the search and examination (S&E) results from another participating AMS IP Office as reference in its own S&E work. A patent applicant may therefore, request for accelerated examination under the ASPEC if the corresponding foreign applications in said countries are indicated to be patentable/allowable. Read more