Crowdsourcing Patent Examination with the Patent Prosecution Highway
What You Need to Know
Key takeaway #1
The PPH can be a useful tool for streamlining global prosecution of corresponding patent applications—which in turn can reduce costs and increase the chances of successful prosecution.
Client Alert | 12 min read | 05.15.23
These benefits can streamline global prosecution and reduce overall costs for applicants, particularly in view of the ever growing number of countries participating in PPH programs. Presently, the USPTO has PPH agreements with patent offices of the Europe Union, United Kingdom, China, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, Israel and several other countries and regions.
For additional information on the PPH, including country specific requirements and PPH strategies for your patent portfolio, please contact your trusted partners at Crowell & Moring.
Insights
Client Alert | 2 min read | 06.12.25
Acting USPTO Director Coke Morgan Stewart issued a Director Discretionary decision on June 6, 2025, in iRhythm Technologies Inc. v. Welch Allyn Inc., IPR2025-00363, -00374, -00376, -00377, and -00378 Paper 10 (PTAB June 6, 2025). This decision granted Patent Owner’s request for discretionary denials of institution in five related IPR challenges. It follows several recent Director decisions that have all discretionarily denied petitions for reasons other than the substantive merits of the challenges. However, this decision is the first one that relies upon “[s]ettled expectations of the parties, such as the length of time the claims have been in force,” a new consideration that was first articulated in the USPTO’s “Interim Process for PTAB Workload Management” memorandum (“Interim Memo”) dated March 26, 2025.
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