By Donald Zuhn —

USPTO Updates "Track I" Program

On Monday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that it had issued a final rule, changing the Track I prioritized examination program.  Under the new rule, applicants can request prioritized examination for "any patent application in which a proper request for continued examination (RCE) has been filed before, on, or after December 19, 2011."  Additional information regarding the change was provided in a notice published Monday in the Federal Register (76 Fed. Reg. 78566).  After postponing the launch of the Track I program due to funding limitations, the Track I program was finally implemented on September 26 as part of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (see "USPTO Implements Prioritized Examination Track under AIA").

USPTO and Rospatent Announce PCT Agreement

On Monday, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the implementation of an agreement with the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent), in which Rospatent will act as an available International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for international applications filed with the USPTO as the Receiving Office.  The agreement will take effect on January 10, 2012.  According to the Office's notice on the agreement, "[t]he addition of Rospatent as an available ISA/IPEA choice will allow applicants additional flexibility in choosing a given international authority based on the technology disclosed in the international application, speed of services provided and cost of obtaining searches and examinations of international applications."

Applicants selecting Rospatent as the ISA will pay a search fee of $415, as compared with $2,080 for searches conducted by the USPTO.  Applicants selecting Rospatent as the IPEA will pay an international preliminary examination fee of RUB 5400 ($169.41 at the current exchange rate) and a handling fee of $219 when Rospatent was the ISA, as compared with $600 for an examination conducted by the USPTO when the USPTO was the ISA.  For examinations conducted by Rospatent where it was not the ISA, the examination fee will RUB 8100 ($254.11 at the current exchange rate), as compared with $750 for an examination conducted by the USPTO when the USPTO was not the ISA.

USPTO Director Davis Kappos noted that "[t]he collaboration between the USPTO and Rospatent will be beneficial for US applicants as it will provide additional choices at a lower cost."

USPTO and IPO Establish PPH Pilot Program

Last month, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced the establishment of a new Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program with the Icelandic Patent Office (IPO).  As with other PPH programs, the USPTO-IPO PPH will permit an applicant having an application whose claims have been allowed in one of the offices to fast track the examination of an application in the other office, such that the latter application is examined out of turn.  In particular, an applicant receiving a ruling from either the USPTO or IPO that at least one claim in an application is patentable may request that the other office fast track the examination of corresponding claims in the corresponding application in that office.

The USPTO-IPO PPH pilot program, which began on December 1, 2011, is scheduled to expire on November 30, 2012, but may be extended for up to one year or terminated earlier depending on volume of activity and other factors.  USPTO requirements for participation in the USPTO-IPO PPH pilot program can be found here, and IPO requirements can be here.

Since implementing its first Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) on July 3, 2006, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has established a total of twenty-two PPH programs with other patent offices.  Currently the USPTO has PPH programs (full or pilot) in place with the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UK IPO), the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO), IP Australia (IP AU), the European Patent Office (EPO), the Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO), the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), the German Patent and Trade Mark Office (DPMA), the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland (NBPR), the Hungarian Patent Office (HPO), the Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Patents and Trademarks (ROSPATENT), the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), the Austrian Patent Office (APO), the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), the Swedish Patent and Registration Office (PRV), Nordic Patent Institute (NPI), and the Israel Patent Office (ILPO), the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), the Norwegian Industrial Property Office (NIPO), China's State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), and the Icelandic Patent Office (IPO).

In other PPH news, the USPTO issued a follow-up notice regarding its launch of new Paris Convention ("Paris Route") and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot programs with China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) (see "USPTO News Briefs," November 17, 2011).

USPTO Launches New Website Design

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office launched a new home page design today.  According to a notice regarding the new design, the redesigned website "better presents the activities and services of the USPTO to the public, and is more accessible to [the agency's] user community."  The Office noted that the old design, which was launched in June 2009 (see "USPTO Issues Beta Release of New Website"), was criticized as being "too text heavy," and the new site places a greater reliance on graphic cues to help visitors find what they’re looking for.  To help users transition to the new site, the old home page will be available until February 29, 2012.  The Office is also accepting comments regarding the website at newhomepage@uspto.gov.