Electronic Delivery of Search Results From the United States Patent and Trademark Office to the European Patent Office

摘要

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recently begun electronic delivery of search results from U.S. patent applications to the European Patent Office (EPO) to assist U.S. applicants who later file in the EPO to comply with amended Rule 141(1) of the EPO's implementing regulations to the European Patent Convention (EPC). As a result, U.S. applicants subject to amended Rule 141(1) EPC will not need to separately file their U.S. search results with the EPO, thereby providing time and cost savings to these applicants.