USPTO Tries Out Outsourcing for PCT Application Searches

  On September 21, 2005, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) announced that they had signed an agreement with Landon Intellectual Property Incorporation (Landon IP, Inc.) and Intellectual Property Data Miner Incorporation (IP Data Miner Inc.), and that they would start to try out their outsourcing for PCT application prior art searches, with the purpose to find out whether commercial institutions can insure their cost benefit while maintaining a considerable accuracy and quality criteria which correspond to USPTO in searches.

  It is estimated that up to the end of 2005, international searches and/or examination application accepted by USPTO will exceed 45,000. And the patent examiners of USPTO go through a large amount of international searches, besides examining 350,000 domestic applications per year. Therefore, USPTO hopes to focus its attention on reducing the number of domestic application cases waiting to be examined through outsourcing some work in the international application procedure, in order to improve the quality of patent and to realize an efficient and high-quality governmental operation which is the basic and guiding principle of President’s Management Agenda.

  Further, USPTO will decide whether it should transfer some of its work relating to PCT application to other state intellectual property offices in charge of PCT searches and examinations at present, based on the result of this trying out.

October 12, 2005 

Source: State Intellectual Property Office