Following a review of the effectiveness of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme for the period 2016-2018, IP Vietnam and JPO have agreed to renew the pilot VN-JP-PPH program for the next 3 years beginning on 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2022. There will be a maximum of 200 requests filed each year in Vietnam. Of those 200 requests, a maximum of 100 are permitted for submission to IP Vietnam from 1 April to 30 September, with the remainder permitted for submission from 1 October to 31 March. Vietnamese patent applications eligible for the VN-JP PPH programme must meet the prescribed requirements. The requirements and procedures for extended PPH programme are substantially the same as before.
Procedures and timeline under VN-JP-PPH program
IP Vietnam will review and decide if the application is qualified for the PPH. The applicant is given the opportunity to provide missing documents when informed by IP Vietnam. Even if IP Vietnam says that an application does not meet the requirements of the PPH programme, the applicant can apply again if the maximum number of requests is not reached in the prescribed time period.
Currently, IP Vietnam issues the first Office Action in 9 months from the starting date of substantive examination period (half the time of the statutory 18 month-period).
For more details of the PPH program, please contact us at PatentsVietnam@rouse.com.
