European Patent Office and Japanese Patent Office to pilot "Patent Prosecution Highway"

On January 29, 2010, a test phase of a bilateral Patent Prosecution Highway will begin at the European and Japanese Patent Offices. If a patent application to either office contains at least one allowable claim, the applicant will have the option of requesting that the second office perform a fast track examination of the corresponding claims in the corresponding application. The goal is for each patent office to be able to take advantage of the examination results of the other, thereby both reducing the examination workload and improving patent quality.