Image Source: Japan Patent Office
The African
Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) has begun participating in
the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (Global PPH) Pilot Program, with effect
from 6 January 2026.
The Global
PPH is a multi-office initiative that promotes cooperation in patent
examination and enables applicants to request accelerated examination across
participating offices, building on earlier examination work already carried out
elsewhere. The Global PPH extends existing PPH and PCT-PPH arrangements to any
two offices within the Global PPH network, including ARIPO. The Japan Patent
Office (JPO) currently serves as the Secretariat of the Global PPH, and
participating-office requirements are published on the JPO portal.
Requesting
accelerated examination at ARIPO under the Global PPH
Applicants
seeking accelerated examination at ARIPO under the Global PPH should ensure
that:
- The ARIPO application and the Office of Earlier
Examination (OEE) application(s) share the same earliest date
(priority or filing date).
- At least one corresponding OEE application has one
or more allowable claims (including claims found novel, inventive, and
industrially applicable in relevant PCT work products).
- The claims on file at ARIPO sufficiently correspond to the allowable OEE claims (same/similar scope, or narrower).
Key
documents to submit
A Global
PPH request to ARIPO should include ARIPO Form 13D, a claim correspondence
table, and supporting documentation such as relevant OEE office actions and
allowed/patentable claims (with English translations where needed; machine
translations are acceptable, subject to quality).
Requests
are submitted by letter under Rule 45 of the Regulations for implementing the
Harare Protocol, together with Form 13D, the correspondence table, and
supporting documents.