IPONZ has partnered with the European Patent Office (EPO) on a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programme as of 1 December 2024.
The IPONZ-EPO PPH programme is an arrangement between IPONZ and the European Patent Office. This programme allows patent applicants to request accelerated examination in either office, provided that one or more claims of their patent application have been found to be allowable by the other office.
In combination with the IPONZ-CNIPA PPH and Global Patent Prosecution Highway programme, this PPH arrangement between IPONZ and the EPO means that New Zealand applicants now have options to fast track examination in all of the most frequently filed locations for their patent applications.
More information on the IPONZ-EPO PPH is available on our website.