In recent years, the number of patent applications has continued to rise, and the complexity has also increased. As a result, the backlog of pending applications at the USPTO has remained high. In 2007, it reached nearly 760,000, a record high. In order to effectively solve this problem and ensure the quality of examination while improving work efficiency, the USPTO has taken a number of measures.
1. Promote the “Patent Prosecution Highway” project
The “Patent Prosecution Highway” (PPH) refers to when the Office of First Application (OFF) files a claim on a certain application When an admissibility/authorization decision is made, the applicant can submit an accelerated examination request to the Office of Secondary Applications (OSF) for the corresponding application, and OSF can use the search and examination results of OFF. In this way, applicants can obtain overseas patent authorization more conveniently, and offices can also realize mutual use of search and examination results, reducing their own work burden.
In view of this, the USPTO decided to cooperate with the EPO and the offices of Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Canada to vigorously promote the project. Among them, the PPH project with Japan was officially implemented in January 2008, and the PPH projects with the United Kingdom and Canada have also entered the trial phase.
2. Strengthen international cooperation in PCT application search and examination
In order to improve the efficiency and quality of patent examination and concentrate more energy on processing the large backlog of domestic applications, the USPTO in 2005 Began cooperation with Intellectual Property Australia, with Australia providing search and examination services for PCT applications. In 2007, IP Australia handled nearly 1,200 PCT applications for the USPTO in different technical fields.
In addition, the USPTO and the Swedish Patent Registration Office (PRV) launched a similar pilot project in September 2007 to test the feasibility of PRV providing PCT application search and examination services to the USPTO. In accordance with the relevant regulations of the project, PRV will provide search and examination services for 50 PCT applications accepted by the USPTO; the USPTO will evaluate the results to determine whether the quality of PRV's work meets its requirements.
3. Implement the expedited review procedure
In August 2006, the USPTO began to implement the expedited review procedure. According to this procedure, inventions and creations in any technical field can be reviewed and a decision made on whether to authorize them within 12 months. Compared with the past, the review cycle can be shortened by 25% to 75%. However, this procedure has higher requirements for application documents. The total number of claims in each patent application cannot exceed 20, of which the independent claims cannot be more than 3, and must not contain any multiple dependent claims; the applicant must complete a search of the prior art on its own and provide all relevant inventions. Create the most similar existing technology and related information; explain the differences between the invention and the existing technology, its practical value, and whether the contents of the written description and claims are consistent, etc. In addition, the deadline for applicants to respond to various notifications has also been shortened.
On March 13, 2007, the first patent reviewed and authorized under this procedure came out. The person who was honored to receive this honor is a printer ink gauge patent, which was submitted to the USPTO by Brother Inc. in September 2006. According to normal procedures, the average review period for patent applications in the field of ink cartridge technology is 25.4 months, but this patent only took 6 months from review to authorization, saving the applicant 18 months.
4. Launch of the "Patent Review Public Review Pilot Project"
On June 15, 2007, the USPTO began to implement the "Patent Review Public Review Pilot Project" (Peer Review Pilot) for a period of One year. The project involves 250 published patent applications in the computer field. All applicants participate voluntarily and agree to the USPTO soliciting public opinions on their patent applications (current US law stipulates that the public has no right to comment on their patents without the consent of the applicant). Application for submission of submissions). Professionals in the computer field can review the 250 published patent applications and submit relevant technical reference documents on the claims of the application before the examiner conducts actual examination, so that the examiner can master more information in a shorter period of time. Relevant technical information, thereby shortening the review cycle of patent applications.
In addition, in order to further speed up the examination process and improve the quality of examination, the USPTO also supports applicants in submitting search and supporting documents, and recommends that Congress pass legislation to allow third parties to submit appropriate relevant information during the review of patent applications.