Saudi Arabia: Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)1

The Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property has officially joined the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), marking a significant step forward in the IP journey to promote inventive minds and streamline the patent examination process.

This PPH Pilot Program commenced on 12 September 2023 for a period of 2 years and will end on 11 September 2025.

An applicant who receives a positive ruling on the patent claims from either the SAIP or the IPOS may request accelerated prosecution of the corresponding claims in the other office. Furthermore, it permits each office to exploit the work previously done by the other office.

It is worth noting that the SAIP has already signed similar PPH agreements with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)2, Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)3, Japan Patent Office (JPO)45, China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA)67, and the European Patent Office (EPO)8.

Footnotes

1. ipos-saip-pph-guidelines.pdf

2. Cooperation Arrangement between the USPTO and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on the PPH

3. Microsoft Word - Draft_[KIPO-SAIP]_Procedures_to_KIPO_final.doc

4. saudiarabia_jpo_en.pdf

5. saudiarabia_saip_en.pdf (jpo.go.jp)

6. 附件2 《在中沙专利审查高速路(PPH)试点项目下向中国国家知识产权局(CNIPA)提出PPH请求的流程》(英文)

7. 附件4 《在专利审查高速路试点项目下向沙特知识产权局(SAIP)提出请求的流程》(英文) (cnipa.gov.cn)

8. 2022-a59.pdf (epo.org)

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