PPH-KIPO is Now Available in Indonesia

JAKARTA: The Directorate General of Intellectual Property of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights (DGIP) has officially in cooperation with the Korean Intellectual Property Organization (KIPO) for establishing the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program. The pilot program was launched on December 8, 2023. This program facilitates an accelerated patent registration process for applications corresponding with a South Korean application of the same invention, which is done by way of conforming examination results from KIPO into DGIP’s examination process.

Applicants can file a request to participate in the PPH program. For this purpose, the first thing the applicants have to do is ensuring that the application intended for the accelerated examination satisfies the requirements to join the program. This includes making sure that the relevant patent application has passed the publication period and it corresponds with application(s) that has been deemed patentable or allowable by the KIPO.

Vice versa, the program also facilitates an accelerated examination process for patent applications filed in South Korea and have corresponding application(s) which have been deemed patentable or allowable by DGIP.

The pilot project will be be in effect for 3 years, and will end on November 8^th, 2026. It is most definite however for KIPO and DGIP to extend the period of the program in the future, especially if both KIPO and DGIP reap positive results from the cooperation made.

The establishment of PPH program between KIPO and DGIP is an initiative taken following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the parties back in September 2023, taking the momentum of 50 years of diplomatic relation between Indonesia and South Korea. The memo was signed in the spirit of highlighting the commitment of both countries in improving their intellectual property system.

Through this PPH program, South Korea has become the second country to establish bilateral cooperation with Indonesia in terms of patent examination acceleration program. Prior to this, Indonesia had established similar cooperation with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) since 2013, which continues to date due to its notable contribution in increasing the effectiveness of patent examination in Indonesia.

Following the success of the PPH program between DGIP and JPO, the recent cooperation made with KIPO would hopefully be able to support the Indonesian government’s initiative to provide a better and more efficient patent registration process to the applicants, particularly on the substantive examination process (RIE/RKH/SAP-su)