USPTO extends expanded Collaborative Search Pilot program … – United States Patent and Trademark Office

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Patent Alert

USPTO extends expanded Collaborative Search Pilot program, adds new petition option

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has extended the expanded Collaborative Search Pilot (CSP) program, in collaboration with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), for two years, through October 31, 2024.

Also, to further improve the expanded CSP program, the USPTO has added a new option to file a single petition form for both partner offices.

“The work we are doing with JPO and KIPO furthers our goal to collaborate more broadly across patent offices to enhance the robustness and reliability of patent rights and to better serve our stakeholders,” remarked Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO. “Through our expanded Collaborative Search Pilot, we are able to speed up patent examination and give applicants more comprehensive prior art, both of which will help our stakeholders more effectively and efficiently use their patents to secure funding or tech transfer opportunities to bring their ideas to market.”

The expanded CSP program provides patent applicants who cross-file internationally with search results from multiple offices early in the examination process. It is designed to speed up examination and give applicants more comprehensive prior art by combining the search expertise of the USPTO, JPO, and KIPO examiners before issuing a first office action.

Please send questions to csp@uspto.gov. You can read the full text of the notice in the Federal Register and on the USPTO’s Patent Related Notices webpage. For more information, visit the CSP webpage on the USPTO website.