UK and US patent offices to fast-track applications

Applying for a patent in the UK and US will be a faster process following an agreement struck between the two countries' patent offices.

A 12-month pilot scheme will allow patent applicants who have already received an examination report by either the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) or the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to obtain an accelerated examination of a corresponding patent filed in the other country.

The initiative is part of the Patent Prosecution Highway, and the UK-IPO struck a similar agreement with the Japan Patent Office in July.

"The agreement will help to efficiently and effectively safeguard inventors' intellectual property and help to stimulate innovation on a national and international scale," said Lord Triesman, UK Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Intellectual Property and Quality.

Products are sold globally, but the conventional patent regime lags behind the trend to globalisation and is still based on regional jurisdictions.

The aim of the Patent Prosecution Highway is to establish a global patent application network to address this anomaly.

The protection of intellectual property in the form of patents is seen as a fundamental element of the free-market economy, and patent application has been pursued with vigour in the US.

But patent litigation has become a significant source of revenue for many US companies (and their lawyers), resulting in a deluge of patent applications.

This has swamped the USPTO and caused a backlog which market analysts predict will damage the US economy. Over 400,000 patents applications were received by the USPTO in 2005 alone.

Consequently, there is widespread debate as to how best to reform the US patent regime.

The Patent Prosecution Highway will help to address the growing backlog of patent applications at the USPTO by ensuring that bona fide applications from companies which have been granted patents in other jurisdictions can be fast-tracked.