Published on: 04/30/2024 12:01 PM
|
New USPTO Accelerated Patent Grant arrangement with the Dominican Republic expands opportunities for U.S. patent holders
Worksharing arrangement will allow for expedited grants of Dominican patents to U.S. patent holders
Kathi Vidal, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and Dr. Salvador Ramos, the Director General of the National Office of Industrial Property of the Dominican Republic (ONAPI), recently signed a joint statement of intent for the implementation of a new worksharing initiative, the Accelerated Patent Grant (APG). A ceremony to mark the signing of the joint statement of intent by Dr. Ramos occurred on April 26. The new arrangement gives eligible patent applicants the option of using an expedited process for obtaining a patent grant in the Dominican Republic based on a U.S. patent grant.
Under the APG process, an eligible patent applicant who has been granted a U.S. patent by the USPTO may request that ONAPI grant a patent on a corresponding Dominican patent application at any time during its processing, following the publication of the application by ONAPI and subject to the relevant patent laws of the Dominican Republic. This new APG worksharing arrangement goes into effect 30 calendar days after the signing ceremony and will continue for five years.
“When we work together to expedite patent grants, we help companies, including start-ups and small businesses, protect their ideas and inventions faster, secure funding, and bring their new ideas to market,” said Director Vidal. "This initiative will help propel innovation for businesses in both the U.S. and the Dominican Republic and drive economic growth through critical intellectual property protections.”
For more information about USPTO worksharing programs, visit the USPTO website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
