On 7 December 2020, the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced the launch of the Parallel Patent Grant (PPG) initiative.
According to the press releases, the PPG results from the Memorandum of Understanding on Technical and Strategic Collaboration (MoU) signed by the USPTO and IMPI on 28 January 2020.
In accordance with the MoU, the two Offices would “implement a parallel patent grant framework that allows IMPI to leverage USPTO search and examination results when granting a counterpart Mexican patent”.
Thus, under the PPG, “IMPI will expedite the grant of a Mexican patent for businesses and individuals already granted a corresponding U.S. patent”. This worksharing arrangement will make “faster for U.S. patent holders to obtain corresponding patents in Mexico”.
As stated by IMPI, approximately 11,000 patent applications filed between 2015 and 2018 may benefit from the PPG.
The PPG is not the first worksharing collaboration between IMPI and the USPTO, given the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program has been implemented since 2011.
Sources: press releases issued by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
