By
Sarah Fendrick —

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced in a March
10,
2010 press release that it has joined forces with the UK Intellectual Property Office
(UKIPO) to develop a plan to reduce patent processing backlogs in both
offices.  The joint effort is a
result of the hindrance the patent backlog is believed to have on the global
economy.  Specifically, in a study
conducted by the London Economics, it was estimated that patent backlogs cost the global economy as much as $11.4 billion each year.

In the USPTO release, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of
the USPTO David
Kappos commented that:

Every quality patent application that
sits on the shelf represents jobs not created.  For that reason, the USPTO
has made reduction of the patent backlog our highest priority.  At the USPTO,
we have already undertaken substantial reform of our system for processing
patent applications.  Work-sharing is an important feature of this
reform.  Thus far, however, our work-sharing efforts at the USPTO have
largely been applicant driven and therefore dependent on whether individual
applicants know about, and appreciate, the clear benefits of
work-sharing.  So I am particularly delighted that we are today embracing
with the UK an office-driven mechanism for reutilization of work.

Each Office has
committed to developing plans to ensure the work product of patent applications
filed jointly at the USPTO and the UKIPO will be utilized for patent processing
in each office.  The USPTO and
UKIPO will identify areas in which resuse of information can occur among the
two offices to increase efficiency and reduce backlog.