Objectives

The Five Heads of Intellectual Property Offices:

Ms Alison Brimelow, President of the European Patent Office (EPO)
Mr Takashi Suzuki, Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) (since replaced by Mr Tetsuhiro Hosono)
Dr Jung-Sik Koh, Commissioner of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO)
Mr Tian Lipu, Commissioner of the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO)
Mr Jon Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) (since replaced by Mr David Kappos)

met in Jeju, Korea, on 27 and 28 October 2008.

Work sharing vision

Recognising the growing number of filings and pending applications in all five offices,
Recognising the impact thereof on the operation of the patent system,
Recognising the urgency of taking action,

The Heads of Offices agreed on the following vision:

"The elimination of unnecessary duplication of work among the offices,
enhancement of patent examination efficiency and quality, and guarantee of the stability of patent right".

The offices agreed on the large benefits of worksharing. It was estimated that the number of applications, where work from one office which could be reutilised by another office currently stands at up to 250 000 per year. An enhanced work-sharing among the five offices could contribute to significant increase in examination capacity.

Patent applications at IP5 Offices

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Continuously rising backlogs

Alone within the EPO, JPO and USPTO there are about 2 million pending files in examination. If nothing is done this number could be 4 million in 10 years

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Work sharing prerequisites

The Heads of the IP5 Offices agreed that in order to achieve the vision, there are two prerequisites: Quality and Timeliness.

The quality of the searches and examination in all five offices should be executed to the same high standard, maximising the potential to eliminate unnecessary duplication of work.

The timeliness of searches and examination in all five offices should be executed with full consideration of the workload and workflow of each office,

Additionally, based on mutual agreement among the offices, search and examination results should be disclosed via certain methods accepted by all the five offices.

Ongoing work sharing projects

The IP5 Offices have agreed in the context of their own circumstances to continue and take forward ongoing work-sharing projects, including PPH and SHARE.

PCT as work sharing platform

The Heads of the IP5 Offices have reiterated that the PCT is an international framework for work-sharing and recognise that the PCT plays a significant role in work-sharing. Its use as a work-sharing platform should be enhanced by the five offices.

The Heads of the IP5 Offices have agreed to work with WIPO towards improving the well-functioning of the PCT system.

Foundation Projects

The Heads of the IP5 Offices have agreed that the following ten Foundation Projects will constitute an effective way to advance the vision:

Common Hybrid Classification (lead: EPO)
Common Documentation (lead: EPO)
Common Application Format (lead: JPO)
Common Access to Search and Examination Results (lead: JPO)
Common Training Policy (lead: KIPO)
Mutual Machine Translation (lead: KIPO)
Common Examination Practice Rules and Quality Management (lead: SIPO)
Common Statistical Parameter System for Examination (lead: SIPO)
Common Search and Examination Support Tools (lead: USPTO)
Common Approach to Sharing and Documenting Search Strategies (lead: USPTO)

Involvement of other offices and WIPO

The Heads of the IP5 Offices have emphasised the importance of open communication with other users of the system, especially with other patent offices. The offices therefore agree to bring on board the views of other offices that share the need for action, as appropriate. Furthermore, the offices re-iterated the necessity of involving WIPO in the implementation of the Foundation Projects.

Involvement of examiners

The Heads of the IP5 Offices recognise the paramount importance of the full
involvement and commitment from the examiners of the five offices during the
implementation of the Foundation Projects and propose common actions to enhance such involvement and commitment.

The offices agree to hold an examiners' workshops as one such measure to encourage the voluntary participation of examiners and to honour the best practices at each office. This workshop will facilitate the implementation of the relevant Foundation Projects such as Common Documentation Database, Common Search and Examination Support Tools, and Common Training Policy.

Roadmap

The Heads of the IP5 Offices have agreed to exchange detailed proposals (including costs, benefits, resources and time line) for each Foundation Project and strive to identify the agreed approach and the specific details required for implementation by April 2010.