What are the requirements for PPH participation in the USPTO?

To participate in the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program at the USPTO, applicants must meet specific requirements. According to MPEP 708.02(c), these include:

• Corresponding application: The U.S. application must have a corresponding application filed in a PPH partner office.
• Patentable claims: The partner office must have determined that at least one claim is patentable.
• Claim correspondence: All claims in the U.S. application must sufficiently correspond to the allowable claims in the partner office application.
• Examination status: Substantive examination of the U.S. application must not have begun.
• Required documents: Applicants must submit necessary documents, including copies of office actions from the partner office, claims determined to be patentable, and a claims correspondence table.

The USPTO provides detailed guidance on these requirements and the application process on their PPH website.

To learn more:

• PPH requirements
• USPTO
• patent application
• claim correspondence
• examination status