AUSTRALIA JOINS THE GLOBAL PATENT PROSECUTION HIGHWAY PILOT

'On 1 November 2013, Australia and twelve other countries, announced the commencement of a Global Patent Prosecution Highway (GPPH) pilot. The pilot will soon provide applicants with a unified framework to fast track their patent applications at participating IP offices, based on an allowance in one participating office.'

'The pilot will include work in the national context and the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The following offices are participating:

Canadian Intellectual Property Office
Danish Patent and Trademark Office
National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland
Japan Patent Office
Korean Intellectual Property Office
Nordic Patent Institute
Norwegian Industrial Property Office
Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property
Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property
Spanish Patent and Trademark Office'

Source: ipaustralia.gov.au