Patents: New Announcement on EPO, Japan and USPTO Co-operation

Liza Porteus of Intellectual Property Watch has just published a very interesting article on the result of various discussions between EPO, Japan Patent Office and USPTO officials which have taken place in Washington over the last few days. Apparently, the three offices intend to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding between them on the alignment of the patent application system some time today. Also likely to be announced today, according to Liza, is a plan to pilot a three-way search service next year and the permanent adoption of the "Patent Prosecution Highway" (a reciprocal process by which the JPO and USPTO agree that if either of them decides that at least one claim of a patent application is patentable the other will accelerate the application process of the patent) and perhaps its extension to other patent offices such as ours.

I have to say that there is nothing about these momentous announcements on the trilateral (joint EPO, JPO and USPTO) website, but then there is never very much of interest on that site and it needs updating (says Mr Pot to Ms Kettle).

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