The Patent Prosecution Highway: A Global Superhighway to Changing Validity Standards

This presentation explores the effect that work-share agreements amongst patent offices around the globe have on the validity of the resulting patents. The discussion seeks to survey the scope of current work-share programs, focusing on the Patent Prosecution Highway, and analyze the effect that such work-share programs have on the validity of patents issued through the corresponding processes. The analysis focuses on the presumption of validity in the United States and broadens to include Japan, Korea, and the member states of the European Union. Finally, we will go over the wide spectrum in quality of patent examiners throughout the PPH network and the relatively myopic tendencies of patent examiners, resulting in improvidently granted patents in the offices of second filing, as pertinent prior art will go unfound and unexamined in the push to issue patents quickly through the PPH programs.