USPTO To Host Meeting On Harmonization Of Patent Laws

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

22 December 2004

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced this week that it will be hosting an exploratory meeting on February 3-4 next year, to discuss the current state of substantive patent law harmonization and look at possible approaches for pushing harmonization forward.

The move is perhaps partly due to the fact that talks on substantive patent law harmonization at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have been delayed until May 2005 as a result of disagreement among WIPO member states over the content of a proposed harmonization treaty and the best way to proceed with discussions.

“This meeting will be an important step in getting substantive patent law harmonization back on track,” noted Jon Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property. He continued:

“Harmonization promises to bring substantial benefits, including uniform patent examination, reduced patent office workloads, and enhanced patent quality. The sooner we can agree on a basic framework, the sooner we can begin providing these benefits to patent applicants, patent offices and the public alike.”

Government representatives from Canada, Australia, Japan, the European Commission, the European Patent Office and the Member States of the European Patent Convention have all been asked to participate in the forthcoming meeting.

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