IP PRO - News of Intellectual Property



News of Intellectual Property 07.07.2005 - WIPO Launches Full Electronic Processing of PCT Applications GENEVA - The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced on Thursday that International patent applications filed under the WIPO Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and received from the PCT receiving offices in the Republic of Korea and Finland will now be processed in a fully electronic manner. This step represents a significant advance over the partial electronic functionality already in operation within the PCT following the introduction of electronic filing of international patent applications under the PCT at the European Patent Office, Japan, and a number of other offices. WIPO will gradually deploy full electronic processing of applications received from other PCT receiving offices in the coming months. "The move to electronic processing by WIPO is expected to facilitate longer-term efficiency gains and improved services at WIPO, including an online file inspection service, by building up a comprehensive database of PCT-related documents in electronic form," said Francis Gurry, deputy director general who oversees the Office of the PCT. According to a press release by WIPO, electronic processing means that no paper file will be established at WIPO. Record copies and all subsequent documents for these applications will either be scanned on receipt (if received on paper) or loaded directly into an electronic dossier (E-dossier) if received electronically. Full electronic processing began on June 20, 2005, for PCT applications received from the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) with an international application number of PCT/KR2005/001400 and beyond, and on July 4, 2005, for PCT applications received from the National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland. This service will continue to be progressively extended to all international applications received at WIPO from all 102 PCT receiving offices. The PCT is the cornerstone of the international patent system and offers a rapid, flexible, and cost-effective way to obtain patent protection in the 126 countries that have signed up to the system. It provides inventors and industry an advantageous route for obtaining patent protection internationally. By filing one "international" patent application under the PCT, protection of an invention can be sought simultaneously in each of a large number of countries. Both applicants and patent offices of PCT member states benefit from the uniform formality requirements, the international search and preliminary examination reports, and the centralized international publication provided by the PCT system. The national patent granting procedure and the related expenses are postponed, in the majority of cases, by up to 18 months (or even longer in the case of some offices) as compared with the traditional patent system. By this time, the applicant will have received important value-added information concerning the likelihood of obtaining patent protection as well as potential commercial interest in that invention. All news of IP Back to main page
News of IP \| About us \| Service \| Schedule of charges \| Conference \| Legislation \| Partners Feedback \| Site map
Designed by iPPro, programming by SEM-Promo © 1997-2005. All rights reserved.