Did You Know? How Long Does it Take To Clear A Patent Backlog?

We often complain about backlogs and how to clear them in our daily life.. Whether it is related to important or non-important things..

Well, if new filings were to stop today, it would take two years to clear the backlog at the USPTO according to that source.

Time to consider outsourcing?

EPO Proposes Measures For Quality Improvement

The EPO has disclosed various measures (link) that will (help) "raise the bar on the quality of patents while improving efficiency in the granting process".

1. Clarification of the scope of patent protection sought prior to search.

2. Mandatory response to the written opinion issued with the search report.
3. One opportunity to file voluntary amendments

4. Mandatory provision of the basis for amendments.

World's Most Inventive Cities: None in Canada

BusinessWeek has compiled with the help of Ocean Tomo a list of the most inventive cities in the world (link). This has been done by calculating the value of patents awarded since 1976 based on 50 factors.
The first one in the list is San Francisco/Silicon Valley... And unfortunatelly no Canadian city makes the top 25!

Filing of Divisional Applications Will Be Limited At EPO

The EPO has announced (link) that its Administrative Council has adopted a new rule (EPC Rule 36) from 01 April 2010 which removes the ability to file divisional applications at any time up until grant of the parent application.

"As of 1 April 2010, divisional applications on the applicant's own initiative will need to be filed within a period of two years from the first communication by the EPO examining division in respect of the parent (i.e. the previous) or an even earlier (in case of a "chain" of applications) application. Divisional applications filed as a reaction to a non-unity objection (so-called mandatory divisional applications) will also have to be filed within 24 months from the communication in which the relevant objection is raised by the examining division for the first time."

I do not think that this new rule serves the Applicants since it really complicates the prosecution and limits the right to file the application. Moreover, most of the countries allow filing a divisional application until grant of the patent so this goes against the "common" practice. If this is a tactic to reduce backlog, I find that it has a huge price tag.