In an era of increasingly globalized commerce, some of the most significant issues and challenges facing the intellectual property community have international roots. As a result, it is crucial for regulators to come together across borders to promote common interests. With that idea in mind, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office recently formalized a permanent Patent Prosecution Highway with the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office.

"While the PPH pilot program between the USPTO and HIPO has been operational since 2010, today we will make our cooperation in this field permanent by signing a Memorandum of Understanding," HIPO president Miklos Bendzsel explained. "I believe that the possibility to accelerate the patent granting process will serve the innovative community of both markets and move us closer to our goal of a thriving 21st century patent system."

The provisions included in the PPH framework are intended to reduce duplicative work and expedite processing procedures to ultimately provide greater cost savings to applicants.

A similar intercontinental accord was signed late last month by delegates from Mexico and South Korea. According to the Korean Herald, officials expect the average patent prosecution timetable to be reduced from three and a half years to one month.