IPO Annual Meeting

September, 2010

Manny Schecter

Chief Patent Counsel

schecter@us.ibm.com

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September, 20102

Agenda

What is PPH?

Participants and history

Usage stats

Performance metrics

Recommendations

*Thanks to the USPTO and JPO for providing most of the data and some of the slides in this presentation

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September, 20103

Agenda

What is PPH?

Participants and history

Usage stats

Performance metrics

Recommendations

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September, 20104

Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)What Is It?

PPH leverages fast-track examination procedures already available in a patent office of second filing (OSF) to allow applicants in the OSF to obtain patents corresponding to those in a patent office of first filing (OFF) faster and more efficiently

PPH is based on a series of bilateral agreements

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September, 20105

Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)Brief Description

An applicant receiving an allowability

determination from a participating

patent office of first filing (OFF) may

request accelerated examination of

corresponding claims pending in

another participating patent office of

second filing (OSF)

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Courtesy of JPO

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PPH Eligibility Requirements

OSF app claims priority from OFF app

OFF app has at least one allowed claim

All claims in OSF app correspond to allowed

claims in OFF app

OSF app not yet examined

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Documents Which Must Accompany PPH Request

Copy of allowed claims in OFF and translation

Claims correspondence table

Copy of all office actions in OFF and translation

IDS listing references cited in OFF

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Benefits of PPH

Reduces duplication of effort via patent office

worksharing

Increases grant rate

Reduces pendency and legal uncertainty

Compacts prosecution

Reduces cost

Increases applicant patent strategy flexibility

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Agenda

What is PPH?

Participants and history

Usage stats

Performance metrics

Recommendations

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PPH Programs With USPTO

Pilot

Australia (IPAU)

Canada (CIPO)

Denmark (DKPTO)

European Patent Office (EPO)

Finland (NBPR)

Germany (DPMA)

Hungary (HPO)

Russia (Rospatent)

Singapore (IPOS)

United Kingdom (UKIPO)

Trilateral/Korea PCT-PPH

Discussion

China (SIPO)

Spain (SPTO)

Production

Japan (JPO)

Korea (KIPO)

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Timeline of PPH Programs with USPTO

2005 20102009200820072006

Proposal by JPO

Announcement

& Initial Pilot

UKIPO Pilot

CIPO & KIPO Pilot

DKPTO Pilot

DPMA Pilot

Elimination of

Petition Fee

HPO & ROS Patent

Pilots

NBPR Pilot

IPOS Pilot

IPAU & EPO Pilots

KIPO Expansion

To PCT

Trilateral Expansion

To PCT

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The PPH Network

GPTO

IP Australia

DKPTO

UKIPO

KIPO

CIPO

EPO

ROSPATENT

IPOS

NBPR

APO

HPO

USPTO

: under consideration

: full implementation

: pilot implementation

Jul. 2009

JPO

Jan 2010

Courtesy of USPTO

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Courtesy of JPO

The PPH Network

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Courtesy of JPO

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Agenda

What is PPH?

Participants and history

Usage stats

Performance metrics

Recommendations

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Paris Route PPH Requests Filed in USPTOAs of July 1, 2010

Breakdown of requests to participate

Total requests to participate in PPH . . . . 3208

Ineligible requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140

Eligible requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3068

Breakdown of eligible requests

Requests granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2688

Requests dismissed once . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Requests not acted upon . . . . . . . . . . . . 272

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Courtesy of USPTO

Paris Route PPH USPTO Usage History

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Courtesy of USPTO

PCT Route PPH USPTO Usage History

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PPH Usage by USPTO Tech Center

Number of PPH Requests by Technical Center

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

TC16

00

TC17

00

TC21

00

TC24

00

TC26

00

TC28

00

TC36

00

TC37

00

Technical Center

PP

H R

eq

uests

IPOS

NBPR

DPMA

DKPTO

EPO

IPAU

CIPO

KIPO

UKIPO

JPO

Courtesy of USPTO

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USPTO Tech Centers

1600 Biotechnology & Organic Chemistry

1700 Chemical & Materials Engineering

2100 Computer Architecture, Software, & Information Systems

2400 Networking & Computer Security

2600 Communications

2800 Semiconductors, Electrical Circuits & Components

3600 Transportation, Construction, Electronic Commerce, Agriculture, National Security & License & Review

3700 Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing, & Products

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Courtesy of USPTO

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Paris Route PPH Requests Filed in USPTOBy Country of Origin

Num

ber

of R

equests

File

d

2,444

0

100

200

300

400

500

JPO KIPO UKIPO EPO IPAU DKPTO CIPO DPMA NBPR IPOS

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Paris Route PPH Requests Filed in JPOBy Country of Origin

866

0

15

30

45

60

75

90

105

USPTO KIPO DPMA UKIPO EPO NBPR DKPTO ROSPATENT APO IPOS HPO CIPO

Num

ber

of R

equests

File

d

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Agenda

What is PPH?

Participants and history

Usage stats

Performance metrics

Recommendations

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Courtesy of USPTO

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Courtesy of JPO

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2009 PPH Stats in JPO as OSF

Grant rate Apps claiming priority to US app . . . . . . . . . 37% Apps under PPH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59%

First action allowance rate Apps claiming priority to US app . . . . . . . . . 2.6% Apps under PPH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5%

Pendency from PPH request to first action Overall Apps (2008) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.3 months Apps under PPH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.9 months

Pendency from first action to final action Apps claiming priority to US app . . . . 10.5 months Apps under PPH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 months

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Courtesy of JPO

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IBM ExperiencePPH Requests

Over 300 PPH requests filed

Primary routes

JP-US PPH

US-JP PPH

PCT PPH

Significant cost savings depending upon path

Patent office fees to enter PPH

Number of office actions eliminated

Local labor/legal costs

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IBM ExperienceNumber of Office Actions & Prosecution Period

*1 Period from petition for JP US PPH with USPTO to 1st US office action or 1st action allowance

*2 Period from US filing date to 1st US office action or 1st action allowance

*3 Period from petition for US JP PPH with JPO to 1st JP office action or 1st action allowance

*4 Period from request for examination with JPO to 1st JP office action or 1st action allowance

Route

Number of

office actions

in OSF*

Time in days to

first action

in OSFJP US PPH 1.2 134 (*1

JP US Non PPH 2.1 966 (*2

US JP PPH 1.3 49 (*3

US JP Non PPH 2.2 1012 (*4

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IBM ExperiencePatent Grant Rate

Route Grant Rate %

JP US PPH 82.6

JP US non PPH 72.0

US JP PPH 86.7

US JP Non PPH 69.5

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Agenda

What is PPH?

Participants and history

Usage stats

Performance metrics

Recommendations

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September, 201034

Benefits of PPH – Validation!

Reduces duplication of effort via patent office

worksharing

Increases grant rate

Reduces pendency and legal uncertainty

Compacts prosecution

Reduces cost

Increases applicant patent strategy flexibility

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Recommendations

Improve geographic uniformity of regulations,

procedures, and forms

Develop centralized information repository,

including metrics

Provide education

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More Information

http://www.uspto.gov/patents/init_events/pph/index.jsp

http://www.jpo.go.jp/cgi/linke.cgi?url=/torikumi_e/t_tori

kumi_e/patent_highway_e.htm

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