New Delhi, Nov 21 (KNN) The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme will give an opportunity to Indian inventors including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and Start-ups of India to get accelerated examination of their patent applications in the partner country.

PPH programme was approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The programme will be implemented by the Indian Patent Office (IPO) under the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks, India (CGPDTM) with patent offices of various other interest countries or regions.

Initially, the said programme will commence between Japan Patent Office (JPO) and Indian Patent Office on pilot basis for a period of three years only. 

Under this Pilot programme, Indian Patent Office may receive patent applications in certain specified technical fields only, namely, Electrical, Electronics, Computer Science, Information Technology, Physics, Civil, Mechanical, Textiles, Automobiles and Metallurgy while JPO may receive applications in all fields of technology.

PPH programme would lead to reduction in time to dispose patent applications; reduction in pendency of patent applications; improvement in quality of search and examination of patent applications; and an opportunity for Indian inventors including MSMEs and Startups of India to get accelerated examination of their patent applications in Japan.

The ambit of the programme may be extended in future, as decided by the Commerce & Industry Minister.  The patent offices will frame their own guidelines for implementation of the programme.

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