Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patent Applications Filed by Female Applicants extended for one year from July 1, 2026

　TIPO announced on June 26, 2026 that the “Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patent Applications Filed by Female Applicants”, which was initially launched on July 1, 2025 and originally expired on June 30, 2026, will be extended for another year.  Since the launch of this program, women applicants participating in this program have received examination results in an average period of 44.2 days from filing a request under this program, which reflects the effectiveness of this program.  In order to encourage women to engage in innovation and invention and to help them obtain patent protection more promptly, TIPO has, after assessing its examination capacity, amended this program to extend the trial period through June 30, 2027.  

　The eligibility and requirements of this program are summarized as follows.  This program applies to the applications filed solely by natural persons, and the applicant, or at least one of the applicants, must be a woman who is also the inventor or one of the inventors.  In addition, the request for participating in this program must be filed on TIPO’s e-filing system within the period between the service of TIPO’s notice that substantive examination is about to commence and before the service of the first office action.  Upon review and confirmation that the requirements are met, TIPO will issue the first office action or a decision to grant the patent within six months from the date of request being filed.  

　This revised program only adjusts and extends the pilot period, while all other provisions thereof remain unchanged.  Details of the “Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patent Applications Filed by Female Applicants” and “Q&As on the Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patent Applications Filed by Female Applicants” are available on TIPO’s website.  (Released 2026.06.26)  
/CCS