Brazil: Phase II of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program BPTO-JPO
On February 12, 2019, the Brazilian Patent Office (BPTO) issued Resolution No. 235, instituting the Phase II of PPH Pilot Program signed between the BPTO and the Japanese Patent Office (JPO). It is worth noting that eligible technical fields have been expanded and now include:
- macromolecular chemistry;
- polymers;
- agrochemicals;
- micro-organisms;
- enzymes;
- metallurgy and materials.
According to said Resolution, applications shall be classified within any of International Patent Classification – IPC, included in the list of ANNEX I.
In addition, applications related to pharmaceutical technical field, particularly those belonging to the main or secondary IPC A61K are excluded from the Phase II of PPH program. Further, divisional applications and their corresponding parent applications might be eligible.
In order to be eligible of Phase II of the PPH pilot project, the following requirements must be met:
- It must have been published (or been accepted to national phase if filed via PCT) with examination already requested;
- It must have a family member allowed by the JPO;
- It must have at least the first member of the patent family filed with the JPO or the BPTO (or, in the PCT scope, with the JP/RO or BR/RO);
- It must not be under litigation in Brazil;
- It must not have its substantive examination already started
- It must have all the annuities duly paid;
- It must not have been accepted in any other fast-track examination program.
The PPH pilot project (Phase II) will run for 2 (two) years, as from April 1st, 2019, and will be limited to 200 (two hundred) applications per Office. In addition, the applicant may apply for one PPH request per month, except for the last 30 days of the program.
ANNEX I
The International Patent Classifications (IPCs) eligible under Phase II are listed below.
| Technical field | IPC codes |
| Machinery and electrical appliances, energy | F21#, H01B, H01C, H01F, H01G, H01H, H01J, H01K, H01M, H01R, H01T, H02#, H05B, H05C, H05F, H99Z |
| Audio-visual technology | G09F, G09G, G11B, H04N3, H04N5, H04N9, H04N13, H04N15, H04N17, H04R, H04S, H05K |
| Telecommunications | G08C, H01P, H01Q, H04B, H04H, H04J, H04K, H04M, H04N1, H04N7, H04N11, H04Q |
| Digital Communications | H04L |
| Communication basic process | H03# |
| Computer technology | G06# (G06Q not included), G11C, G10L |
| Methods of Information technology for management | G06Q |
| Semiconductors | H01L |
| Macromolecular chemistry, polymers | C08B, C08C, C08F, C08G, C08H, C08K, C08L |
| Metallurgy and materials | B21#, B22C, B22D, B22F, C01B, C01C, C01D, C01F, C01G, C03C, C04B, C21B, C21C, C21D, C22B, C22C; C22F |
| Agrochemicals | A01N, A01P, C07D, C07G, C07H, C07J |
| Microorganisms or enzymes | C12N |
| Miscellaneous | B60#, B62#, C08J, F02D, G02B, G02F, G03G, G05#, G08G, H01S, H04N19, H04N21, H04W, H05H |
If you need further information, please contact us at patents@murtagoyanes.com.br.