Phase III of the PPH is in effect

The BPTO (Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office) informs that, since the beginning of this month, according to Ordinance No. 055/2021, phase III of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Shared Examination Pilot Project has been in effect.

The agreements signed with the BPTO will remain in force, and the PCT exam results from International Authorities will be automatically accepted. The main changes for the new phase were:

• Accept the PCT exam result as a basis for PPH requirements (PCT-PPH).
• Increase the total number of PPH applications to 700 per year.
• Maintain the limits of 150 per IPC section per year and one application per depositor within the weekly cycle (from Monday to Sunday).
• Include a limit of 100 PCT-PPH applications.
• Cancel the priority process of cases that do not meet the substantive requirements.
• An appeal is not available for any decision of priority procedure.

Through the PPH, Brazilians can use the results of the examinations of patent applications at the BPTO to speed up the analysis in other offices. They can also use the law firm’s exam results to speed up the analysis at the BPTO.