USPTO Collaborates With Korea and Japan Patent Offices on Patent Search

The United States Patent and Trademark Office has signed two separate Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) for a new pilot program designed to share prior art search information with patent applicants before the actual examination of the patent application begins. The MOCs were signed at a bilateral meeting during the IP5 Heads Meeting in Suzhou, China. More about the pilot program after the break!