By Christopher P. Singer —

In a July 10, 2007 announcement, the USPTO announced that the Japan Patent Office (JPO) will become the second foreign office to participate in the priority document exchange program, as of July 28, 2007.  As previously reported on Patent Docs, this program allows for the exchange of priority documents between the USPTO and the European and Japan Patent Offices in order to perfect a priority claim based on a foreign patent application, at no cost to the applicant.  For U.S. applications filed on or after July 28, 2007 under 35 U.S.C. § 111(a), the USPTO will automatically attempt to retrieve an electronic copy of any Japanese priority document, without requiring a request from the applicant.  For U.S. applications filed before July 28, 2007, applicants will need to file the appropriate form (PTO/SB/38) requesting that the USPTO retrieve a copy of the JP priority document.  Similarly, the USPTO will send an electronic copy of a U.S. priority document to the JPO upon making the proper request that permits access to the application by a foreign patent office (PTO/SB/39).  Nevertheless, as is the case in the EPO, the JPO requires a copy of a priority document within 16 months of the priority date, and in light of the fact that U.S. applications do not publish until 18 months after the priority date, applicants will often be required to file the PTO/SB/39 form in order for the USPTO to transmit a copy of the priority document to either of these foreign Offices.