EPO wins work reduction

An effort by the European Patent Office to limit its responsibilities for conducting preliminary searches and examinations of patent applications has been endorsed by a vote of the International Patent Cooperation Union of the World Intellectual Property Organization. The EPO had proposed that it no longer be required to conduct the preliminary searches and exams for applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) from applicants who can get the initial search done by their home country patent offices.

According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the biotech industry is among the heaviest users of the EPO for initial searches (see BioCentury, Sept. 24). But the EPO told the international patent body that it "currently handles the majority of international applications" for initial searches and "is longer in a position to deal with the ever increasing workload . . . within the prescribed time limits." It argued for "a more balanced distribution of work amongst the PCT Authorities." ...