The world's five largest intellectual property offices (IP5), which are the European Patent Office, the Japan Patent Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, have agreed to launch a comprehensive IP5 Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme as of January 2014. The programme will utilise both Patent Co-operation Treaty and national work products and will improve the accelerated treatment of patent applications. The PPH arrangements currently operational between the IP5 Offices (see Legal update, EPO announces updates to three PPH programmes) will be integrated in this all-inclusive scheme.

Source: EPO press release, 25 September 2013.