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Beginning July 1, the USPTO will accept new international applications to the IP5 Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) Collaboration Search and Examination Pilot (CS&E). This pilot was launched by the five largest intellectual property offices in the world (IP5) on July 1, 2018. Visit the CS&E pilot webpage on the World Intellectual Property Organization website for more information on the number of applications accepted into the pilot.
The pilot allows examiners from all five offices, with different working languages, to collaborate on the search and examination of a single international application. The result is an international search report and written opinion from the chosen international searching authority based on contributions from all participating offices. Benefits to applicants include a search done by multiple examiners in different languages, increased predictability of outcome, and no extra cost. The pilot aims at assessing user interest for a CS&E product and the expected efficiency gains for offices.
The requirements for participation in the pilot include limits on the number of applications to be accepted. The USPTO, in its capacity as an International Searching Authority (ISA), has reached its first year limit for accepting applications into the pilot. The EPO, in their capacity as an ISA, previously announced that they have reached certain limits for acceptance of applications in the first year of the pilot.
For more details on the pilot, see the previously published Federal Register Notice and the CS&E pilot webpage on the USPTO website. Inquiries concerning the CS&E pilot may be directed to Michael Neas, Deputy Director, International Patent Legal Administration, by phone (571) 272-3289 or by email to michael.neas@uspto.gov.
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