[2] An updated "PPH 2.0" system under the program name "Mottainai" (a Japanese word meaning "wasteful") began among several national patent offices in mid-2011.
[3] A number of patent offices are participating to PPH schemes.
This pilot program enables to "[fast-track] patent examination procedures for PCT applications that have received a positive written opinion of either the International Searching Authority or the International Preliminary Examining Authority, or an international preliminary examination report from the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) or the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
"[30][31] On 6 January 2016, a patent prosecution highway program was launched between the five intellectual property offices[32] A decision was made in 2016 to extend the duration of the programme by three years.
The starting date of substantive examination of a European patent application is publicly available from the European Patent Register via file inspection.