Washington, DC
April 28, 2008
The Commerce Department's
United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) and the
European Patent Office (EPO)
today announced that they intend to launch a new trial
cooperation initiative called the Patent Prosecution Highway
(PPH) in September. The Patent Prosecution Highway will leverage
fast-track patent examination procedures already available in
both offices to allow applicants to obtain corresponding patents
faster and more efficiently. It also will permit each office to
exploit the work previously done by the other office and reduce
duplication. In turn, the initiative will reduce examination
workload and improve patent quality.
"This pilot is a major step forward in the USPTO-EPO cooperative
efforts to manage workloads and will allow us to take advantage
of each other's work thereby reducing our backlogs while still
maintaining higher patent quality," said Under Secretary of
Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO Jon
Dudas. "The pilot also significantly expands the PPH network in
the global patent office community."
"Being prepared to 'utilise' work is both rational and essential
if the patent system is to keep its head above water" said
President of the EPO Alison Brimelow. "Exploring the
implications of projects like PPH is very important."
Under the Patent Prosecution Highway, an applicant whose
application filed with either the EPO or the USPTO contains at
least one allowable claim may request that the other office fast
track the examination of corresponding claims in corresponding
applications. Full requirements for participation in the trial
program will be available prior to implementation at
www.uspto.gov and www.epo.org.
The purpose of the trial program is to gauge the interest of
applicants and determine if the program improves quality and
efficiency and reduces the workload at each office. The trial
period will be set for one year but may be extended or
terminated earlier depending on volume of activity and other
factors. Both offices will provide notice of any adjustment in
the trial period. |
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