Notice to the Public Regarding Termination of the 1999
                        Concurrent Search Pilot Program

   A notice was published in May 1999 by the European Patent Office
(EPO), Japanese Patent Office (JPO), and United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) (the Trilateral Offices) announcing the start
of the 1999 concurrent search pilot program. The notice further
indicated that the pilot program will be evaluated by the Trilateral
Offices prior to the June 2000 Trilateral Meeting to determine whether
the pilot program should be modified or expanded. The Trilateral Offices
discussed the management of this ongoing pilot program at the Trilateral
Technical Meeting held in Tokyo on June 14 - 16, 2000.

In view of the restricted use of the pilot program, the Trilateral
Offices agreed to conclude the pilot program on August 31, 2000. Any
request for participation in the 1999 concurrent search pilot program
submitted prior to August 31, 2000 will be handled and completed
according to the terms and conditions of the pilot program.
Please direct any comments regarding this notice to one of the e-mail
addresses noted below, where appropriate:

In the EPO          :acardon@epo.org

In the JPO          :PA2A12@jpo-miti.go.jp

In the USPTO        :magdalen.greenlief@uspto.gov

July 5, 2000                                               STEPHEN G. KUNIN
                                                    Deputy Commissioner for
                                                  Patent Examination Policy