The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program between Taiwan and Japan will come to an end on April 30, 2020. In view of its excellent performance, both sides agreed that a permanent PPH program will be in place, starting on May 1 this year. The permanent program is aimed at continuing to provide applicants with stable and convenient PPH services.

Taiwan and Japan have enjoyed a close economic and trade relationship. For long years, Japan outnumbers other countries in invention patent applications filed in Taiwan. Last year (2019), TIPO received as many as 13,198 invention patent applications from Japanese applicants. On the other hand, JPO received a total of 1,548 invention patent applications from Taiwanese applicants. To speed up examination so that applicants could acquire their patents quickly, since May 1, 2012, TIPO and the JPO have conducted the PPH pilot program. In 2014, the program was modified to PPH MOTTAINAI and extended for three more years in 2017.