Parallel Patent Grant (PPG) Initiative Allows U.S. Patent Holders To Obtain Easier and Faster Corresponding Patents in Mexico

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Late last month the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) announced the launch of a new Parallel Patent Grant (PPG) initiative,[1] which expedites the grant of a Mexican patent for businesses and individuals that are already in possession of a corresponding U.S. patent. 

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Under this new initiative, the USPTO and the IMPI will implement a parallel patent grant framework that allows the IMPI to use search and examination results from the USPTO to grant a counterpart patent in Mexico. The PPG initiative with Mexico improves on the existing Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) model by further reducing the review time of a Mexican patent application. Importantly, while the PPH acts to expedite examination, the PPG initiative goes one step further to implement actual worksharing based on the USPTO search and examination  

The PPG initiative may be one of the most important developments in the practice of multi-national patent prosecution between the U.S. and Mexico. Through the creation of institutional efficiencies, the PPG is expected to allow the IMPI to grant Mexican patents at a faster rate by providing allowance of presumably meritorious patent applications corresponding to granted U.S. patents. Under the PPG initiative, the IMPI is expected to grant corresponding applications from U.S. patent holders. Thus, U.S. patent holders may expect to obtain patent protection in Mexico immediately after approval of a PPG request.

The details of the PPG initiative have not yet been announced, and only time will tell whether it will have its intended effect. However, if the existing PPH model is any indicator of the future success of the PPG initiative, U.S. patent holders may expect a significant reduction in the time and expense necessary to obtain patent protection in Mexico.