From CBIA News, July/August 2003

Patent treaty streamlining effort under way

The Department of Commerce’s U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in May hosted a weeklong meeting of high-level patent officials from nine nations and two international patent organizations to review and approve a new blueprint for enhancing the quality of searches and examination for patent applications filed under the provisions of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). 

The PCT is a 25-year-old international pact that facilitates filing a patent application in its 120 member nations. The international application may be used to enter the national application process in any of the PCT countries. PCT search and examination reports help patent filers determine if an application meets basic patent criteria, such as novelty, before they commit to the high cost of translating and filing an application in one or more PCT countries. A team of experts from PCT-member nations has been working to simplify and streamline PCT processing and to revise and update international search and examination guidelines under the treaty. 

“A quality-driven, efficient, and cost-effective PCT process is extremely important to American economic prosperity,” notes James Rogan, under secretary of commerce for intellectual property. “The vast majority of American businesses who apply for U.S. patents also seek to protect their technology abroad. The PCT process helps to promote U.S. commerce globally, fueling our economy and creating jobs for Americans.”

For more information about the PCT, as well as about U.S. and foreign patents, visit the Patent and Trademark Office’s Web site, www.uspto.gov. 

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