IP Office launches fast track for international patents

The Intellectual Property Office has slashed the time that it takes to get a patent approved in the UK, if it has already been examined by another body as part of the international Patent Cooperation Treaty. Under that Treaty, an examination is made of the application and it is then sent for further examination to the individual countries. Until now, any applicant nominating the UK has to wait an average of 18 months to have the patent application reviewed. The IP Office has now set a target of examining those patents within two months under applications that have opted in to the fast-tracked scheme. Baroness Wilcox, the Intellectual Property Minister, has said that the aim of the fast-track procedure is to turn innovation and ideas into products and jobs as quickly as possible. She added that securing a patent is integral as part of that process. For more on the fast-track system, click here: http://www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-types/pro-patent/p-law/p-pn/p-pn-fasttrack.htm.