“These changes would extend the circumstances under which the Commissioner of Patents may make priority documents and other patent documents available to WIPO and other IP offices.”
The applicant would be able to request priority documents be placed in a “secure digital library” to meet the requirements of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and foreign filing requirement of foreign intellectual property office.
“The changes would also reduce the circumstances where applicants are required to routinely file copies of various patent documents with IP Australia when the documents are not immediately required by IP Australia or, if required, are available to it from an IP office.”
The consultation document can be found here [pdf] and submissions are due by close of business Wednesday 17 October 2007.
UK - Public consultation on proposed fast track applications
The UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) has launched a public consultation on proposals to introduce a “fast-track” system for patent and trade mark applications. It is proposed that for an additional fee patent applications could be available within one year of filing and with 10 days of receiving trade mark applications.
“The proposals provide important new tools for businesses - both large and small - in providing fast track routes to the grant of a patent or the registration of a trade mark.”
The consultation paper requests input on how the system should be implemented, including possible fee structures, and can be found here [pdf].
Europe - London Agreement likely to enter into force early 2008
The European Patent Office (EPO) has announced that the French government has adopted a bill authorising the ratification of the London Agreement. If the bill is passed, France will be the tenth country to ratify the Agreement, meaning that the Agreement will most likely come into force in early 2008
Signatories to the London Agreement renounce their right to demand that entire patent applications be translated into their national language. By only requiring that the claims of the patent be translated, the translation costs associated with European patents will be reduced.
Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Slovenia, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom have already ratified the Agreement. The parliaments of Denmark and Sweden have also approved the Agreement, meaning that when it comes into force 12 of the 32 member states of the EPO will be bound.
Denmark, Iceland and Norway - Nordic Patent Institute
The Icelandic Patent Office has recently issued a press release providing details about the new Nordic Patent Institute (NPI) that comes into force on 1 January 2008. The NPI is currently being established by the patent offices of Norway, Iceland and Denmark to handle patent applications made under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PCT allows applicants to seek protection in multiple countries simultaneously through one application.
The purpose of the NPI is to offer Nordic enterprises “a local, speedy and efficient entry into the PCT system”. In addition, the press release states the service should be faster and more flexible than that of the EPO as the NPI will guarantee that in 95% of cases applicants will receive a prior art search report within 15 months.
Searching, examination and administrative services will be provided by the three patent offices as the institute will only have a few staff. This is the first international patent organisation structured in such a way and will be “the most extensive patent cooperation in the world”.
Europe - EU design registration system to be linked with the WIPO international system
EUROPA has announced that a new system allowing applicants who apply for design registration in the European Union through Community Design system to use the same form to apply for protection under the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) international design registration system is expected to be launched on 1 January 2008.
When a Community Design is registered with the Office The Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) it gains protection across the whole EU territory. Once the new system is in place the applicant may be granted further protection in countries which are party to the Geneva Act without having to make further applications.
The non-European Union counties that are party to the Geneva Act include: Albania, Armenia, Botswana, Croatia, Egypt, Georgia, Iceland, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Namibia, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.
Later this year access to Australian patents from 1979 will be available from the single search page, with searchable versions of all patent specifications from 1904 onwards available at a later date. IP Australia has also stated that in the longer term e-Case functionality will provide public access to case files.
IP Australia is requesting feedback on the new user-interface system through a 1, 5, or 15 minute survey.
The Patent Prosecution Highway is said to reduce the examination workload and patent quality. Similar programs are already in trial between the UK-IPO and Japan Patent Office (JPO), the USPTO and JPO, and the JPO and Korean Intellectual Property Office.**
The trial program between the UK & the USA is planned to run for period of one year until 4 September 2008, but may be extended.
IP Australia is requesting submissions on proposed changes to the Patents Regulations 1991. 
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