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FICPI's response to the IP5 consultation on Harmonisation of Formal Requirements
In the summer of 2015, the IP5 offices, EPO, JPO, KIPO, SIPO and USPTO, launched a consultation seeking feedback on three reports aiming to harmonise several formal requirements. The three reports were Unity of Invention, Citation of Prior Art and Written Description/Sufficiency of Disclosure.
Unity of Invention
Applicants should always be able to:
- file divisionals during the whole pendency of a parent application,
- argue against a lack of unity rejection, and
- have all claims searched.
In general, a higher degree of harmonisation is desirable, since the provisions are now unaligned, at the IP5 offices level (e.g. USPTO).
Citation of Prior Art
Patent Offices sometimes operate in breach of Article 42 PCT and/or impose an unnecessary burden on applicants to disclose prior art references, many of which are already available online (CCD, Global Dossier, etc.), or accompany the relevant office actions.
Written Description/Sufficiency of Disclosure
A harmonisation of the formal requirements for both the description and the claims is essential, in particular in the pharmaceutical field, since a PCT application is drafted once but should meet all formal requirements of several patent offices.
FICPI filed a response not only to provide the following feedback but also to request a more direct involvement with the IP5 Offices.
Harmonisation of Formal Requirements
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