The Trilateral Patent Offices, or simply the Trilateral Offices, are the

European Patent Office The European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the two organs of the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg), the other being the Administrative Council. The EPO acts as executive body for the organisation

(EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alex ...

(USPTO). In 1983, these patent offices set up a programme of co-operation in an effort to "improve efficiency of the global patent system".European Patent Office web site
Trilateral cooperation
Projects. Consulted on March 19, 2008.

History

The EPO, JPO and USPTO handle the majority of the world's patent applications. In 1983, these patent offices set up a programme of co-operation in an effort to "improve efficiency of the global patent system" and to exchange information and views on patent administration and examination practice in order to gain mutual benefits.Report on a review of the patenting of business systems
, Advisory Council on Intellectual Property

Co-operation areas

Key areas of co-operation include the development of a common system architecture for electronic exchange of documents such as priority documents, developing standards for electronic filing of

patent application A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and re ...

s and

genetic sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are us ...

submissions, harmonisation of patent practices, and developing common patent information dissemination policies.

Business method patents

In June 2000, the Trilateral Offices released the results of a study on business method related inventions entitled. This report concluded that the mere automation of a known human transaction process using well known automation techniques was not patentable, and that a technical aspect was necessary for a computer implemented business method to be patentable, although this aspect need only be implicit in US claims. It was decided that an important area of focus should be collaboration on searching prior art in the business method field. In November 2001, the Trilateral Offices released the results of a study of search tools and strategies."Trilateral Project B3a", Exchange of Search Results, Report on Concurrent Search Program using PCT Applications for Business Method-related Inventions The report concluded that each Office’s ability to search the prior art for business method inventions was satisfactory but that the EPO and USPTO should make more use of the JPO search documentation and vice versa and that there should be more exchange of

non-patent literature This is a list of legal terms relating to patents. A patent is not a right to practice or use the invention, but a territorial right to exclude others from commercially exploiting the invention, granted to an inventor or his successor in rights ...

(NPL) searching information.

References

External links

Trilateral web site

Trilateral Statistical Reports
from 1996 to 2004

History

Co-operation areas

Business method patents

See also

References

External links

Further reading