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Thursday Aug 02, 2012

Introducing the Global Dossier Initiative

Blog by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the USPTO David Kappos

Imagine having a single, global portal for all stakeholders working on patent filings in multiple patent offices. Well, we’re working on that. It’s a transformative concept currently in development within the IP5 framework, in cooperation with the United Nation’s World Intellection Property Organization (WIPO). This groundbreaking initiative is called the “Global Dossier,” and it will provide a 21st century, all-stakeholder-inclusive electronic environment.

Global Dossier was initially proposed by the USPTO in November 2011, and further developed jointly with the Japan Patent Office last winter for introduction to the IP5 offices this spring. At an IP5 and WIPO heads-of-offices meeting hosted by the European Patent Office in June, the Global Dossier concept was endorsed as a forward-looking way to advance the international patent system, providing stakeholders tremendous cost savings through new efficiencies, while improving patent quality through advanced worksharing mechanisms.

The advantages we envision from Global Dossier include: facilitation of preplanned cross-filings; one-portal management of cross-filed applications; elimination of the need to file duplicate documents in multiple offices (e.g., priority documents, prior art citations, and so on); and cost savings through the use of modern machine translation tools. Among IP offices, it provides tremendous worksharing leverage not only through information exchange, but also examiner collaboration—activities adding to patent quality worldwide.

Many of the ideas included in Global Dossier are not new – indeed some are already under review and development as IP5 Foundation Projects and as pilots in other fora. The Global Dossier initiative gives cohesion to them, providing a unified outcome with clear benefits to all stakeholders in the patent system. It gives the IP5 Offices and WIPO a new opportunity to consolidate, conclude, or re-mission current IT initiatives, and will reduce IT development costs and provide usable results for stakeholders quickly.

The Global Dossier has generated substantial enthusiasm. I invite you to watch a short video that introduces Global Dossier. We welcome feedback on this initiative at globaldossier@uspto.gov. All ideas are welcome—we aim to create a system that works for you, the IP community.

Comments:

I think it is an outstanding idea. Congratulations on this and many of the innovative initiatives underway at the USPTO. All the best, Bill Hulsey

Posted by William N Hulsey III on August 03, 2012 at 07:29 AM EDT #

The Global Dossier initiative would be substantial advanced by imposition of mandatory paragraph numbering for all new application filings.

Posted by Frank Stromotich on August 15, 2012 at 09:21 AM EDT #

It is a fantastic idea, supplementing the PCT that is already in place. Keep up the good work.

Posted by Venkata Desai on September 09, 2012 at 06:36 AM EDT #

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