Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it was extending its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program based on Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) work products (i.e., PCT-PPH pilot program) with the European Patent Office for two more years.  The USPTO similarly announced that it was extending the PCT-PPH pilot program with the Japan Patent Office for two more years.  Both pilot programs are now scheduled to end on January 12, 2014, although either program may be further extended past that date.

Under the PCT-PPH framework, an applicant receiving a positive written opinion or a positive international preliminary examination report in a PCT application where the EPO or JPO was the International Searching Authority (ISA) or the International Preliminary Examination Authority (IPEA) may request that the USPTO fast track the examination of corresponding claims in the corresponding U.S. application.  A positive written opinion or IPER is one in which at least one claim in an International application is determined to have novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability.  Both programs were extended in order to collect more information before any formal decision on the programs is made.

Please see full article below for more information.