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I. [TW] TIPO–INPI Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) to Launch July 1, 2025
I. TIPO–INPI Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) to Launch July 1, 2025
The new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and the French National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI, France) will take effect on July 1, 2025.
The PPH program is a system that accelerates bilateral patent examination. By sharing the search reports and examination results of the patent authorities of both parties, it achieves the purpose of reducing repeated examinations and effectively improving examination efficiency and quality of patent examination. The Taiwan–France PPH will allow companies to secure patent rights more quickly and streamline their global patent portfolios.
The first TIPO-USPTO PPH program began in 2011, and TIPO has since launched PPH programs with five other partners: Japan, Spain, South Korea, Poland, and Canada. France is now the seventh partner, expanding Taiwan’s global PPH network. According to TIPO statistics, the average pendency for PPH requests in 2024 was just 4.4 months, significantly shorter than the general average of 14.15 months.
France was Taiwan’s 18th largest trading partner globally in 2024 it was also Taiwan’s third largest trading partner in the EU, with bilateral trade volume reaching US$6.538 billion.
As a key European economic partner, France plays a vital role in Taiwan’s innovation ecosystem. The Taiwan-France PPH program is part of establishing a more friendly cross-border patent application environment. Companies will be able to obtain patents faster through PPH and seize market advantages.
References
Hyperlink: TIPO
Jason Hung
Patent Attorney of RichIP Group