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.