Accelerated examination under the Patent Prosecution Highway

The PPH is a number of agreements between CIPO and other IP offices around the globe. These agreements let you fast track the patent examination process before examination at no extra charge.

On this page:

  1. Who can submit a request?
  2. Submit a request
  3. After you submit a request
  4. Additional resources
  5. Contact information

Who can submit a request?

You can use this method if:

  • you already have a corresponding application with one of Canada's PPH partners
  • your filed claims in Canada sufficiently correspond to at least one patentable claim of the corresponding foreign application
  • the examination for your patent application has not yet started

For those without foreign patent applications this method will not be helpful. However, a Canadian application may subsequently be used to expedite corresponding foreign applications.

Submit a request

To take advantage of the expedited examination process, submit a letter that includes:

  1. a letter requesting accelerated examination under the PPH
  2. a completed PPH request form and the relevant supporting documents

Address the letter to CIPO.

After you submit a request

Once your request for PPH is approved, a first office action can be expected within 3 months.

Canadian patent applications will be examined in accordance with the Patent Act and the Patent Rules.

  • What is an office action?

    An office action is the correspondence by a patent examiner to the applicant and it includes information regarding the patentability of the application. On average, it takes roughly 13 months to issue the first office action. In a few instances, the first office action is in itself a notice of allowance (i.e. a notice informing the applicant that the invention is patentable).

Additional resources

Contact information

Any inquiries concerning the PPH may be directed to the PPH program manager, or the Client Service Centre.