The Japan Patent Office and China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) began a one-year Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot on November 1, 2011. The pilot is now being extended by a further year, to October 31, 2013.
In connection with the extension, SIPO has also changed the PPH requirements, removing some of the documents previously required for a PPH request. The original notice directs applicants to the JPO’s Japan–China PPH guidance for details.