The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) announced on January 31, 2012 that it entered into a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Project with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) for a period of two years, terminating on January 30, 2014.

This will allow patent applicants in Canada and the United Kingdom to take advantage of faster and more efficient issuance of patents in the two jurisdictions. This initiative should translate to lower costs to the applicant as well.

The CIPO-UKIPO PPH Pilot Program is the latest PPH program at CIPO, adding to the successful PPH pilot programs with Germany, South Korea, Japan, Spain, Finland and Denmark, a pilot program for PCT applications, as well as an indeterminate PPH program with the United States of America.

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