On April 24, 2020, on the eve of World Intellectual Property Day, the Memorandum of Understanding on the Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Programme between the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) and the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) came into force.

EAPO President Saule Tlevlessova and PRH Director General Antti Riivari signed the Memorandum of Understanding.

The basic principles for cooperation between EAPO and PRH on the implementation of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Programme, as well as the details on launching the program and its duration are defined in the Memorandum.

In particular, the launch of the PPH Pilot Programme is scheduled for the second half of this year. The exact date will be further determined by EAPO and PRH. The programme will have duration of three years and may be further extended by mutual consent of the parties.

The procedure for filing a request for accelerated examination to the EAPO, as well as the corresponding request form, will be posted on the web portal of the Eurasian Patent Organization by the launch date of the programme.

The PPH Pilot Programme between EAPO and PRH will provide the applicants with the opportunity to obtain the legal protection for their inventions at EAPO more expeditiously and effectively by using the PRH work products.