Accelerated Patent Grant (APG) Program Between IMPI And USPTO

• Published date: 25 March 2024
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Patent
• Law Firm: OLIVARES
• Author: Mr SergioL. Olivares, Daniel S'nchez and Rommy Morales

The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) has introduced the Accelerated Patent Grant (APG) program, a collaborative initiative with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This program aims to expedite the patent granting process for applications filed in both jurisdictions under certain conditions.

1. To be eligible for the APG program, the Mexican patent application must claim priority from a U.S. application, or both the U.S. and Mexican applications must share common priority.

2. The Mexican application must have completed all necessary formalities, been published in the Mexican Gazette, and passed the two-month period for third-party observations.

3. The related U.S. patent must have been granted and published.

4. The claims in the Mexican application must "sufficiently correspond" to those granted by the USPTO. This means the claims must either have the same scope or be narrower than the U.S. claims.

To request participation in the APG program, applicants...