VZCZCXRO2447
RR RUEHAG RUEHCHI RUEHDF RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHIK RUEHKSO RUEHLZ RUEHNAG
RUEHPB RUEHROV
DE RUEHKO #5038 3030111
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300111Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9039
INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 4049
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 2896
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 6459
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7714
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 4736
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 5852
RUFHMZ/AMCONSUL MUNICH 0043
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHZU/APEC COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS TOKYO 005038 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR RMEYERS 
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USPTO FOR JSANTAMAURO 
STATE FOR EEB/TPP, EAP/J, EUR/ERA, AND EUR/AGS 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ETRD KIPR JA GE
SUBJECT: Japan-Germany to Expand IPR Cooperation 
 
¶1. (U) On October 19 Japan announced a pilot program with Germany 
under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).  The program, which 
will start in March 2008, extends to four the number of countries 
with which Japan has such agreements.  The other countries 
already piloting PPH agreements with Japan are the U.S., Korea, 
and the UK. 
 
¶2. (U) The purpose of the Patent Prosecution Highway is to 
facilitate an applicant's acquisition of a patent in multiple key 
markets.  The program allows information sharing between patent 
offices that will reduce paperwork and filing costs for 
applicants.  It also seeks to reduce the administrative load on 
patent offices and enhance the quality of patent examinations. 
 
¶3. (U) Under the PPH, an applicant may request that a patentable 
claim filed in one office undergo accelerated examination in 
other participating offices as well.  For eligible second filings, 
based on documentation and examination in the first filing, 
requirements could be reduced to as little as one document. 
Further, the Japan Patent Office estimates that accelerated 
examinations under PPH, on average, will take only 2-3 months 
from filing to final approval.  This period is significantly 
shorter than the current average of 26 months from request for 
examination to final approval for first filings. 
 
¶4. (U) In 2006, Japanese filed 3618 applications with the German 
Patent Office, more than from any other country after the Germans 
themselves.  The number of Japanese applications was just ahead 
of Americans at 3283.  These numbers, however, are lower than the 
numbers of patent applications filed with the European Patent 
Office.  The number of applications filed from Germany to Japan 
was 7980, the second largest number of foreign applications after 
filings from the US. 
SCHIEFFER