IP Newsletter | Fall/Winter 2015
	PATENT
	KIPO Implements New Collaborative Search Pilot Program
	In cooperation with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) implemented the Collaborative Search Pilot Program (CSP) on September 1, 2015. The purpose of the CSP is to provide applicants with search results from two offices early in the examination process so that the applicants may better map out their prosecution strategies. KIPO plans to accept up to 200 CSP applications per year for two years, starting from September 1. The intended benefits of the CSP are (i) to promote greater consistency in examination of the corresponding applications between patent offices and (ii) to provide expedited search results and examination. Requirements to Participate in the CSP In general, the CSP allows the USPTO and KIPO to each conduct a prior art search for its pending application and share the search results with the applicant before a first action is mailed to the applicant. The requirements to participate in the CSP at KIPO are as follows:
	KR application must have the same priority date as the U.S. counterpart; Earliest priority date must be on or after March 16, 2013 (the enactment date of U.S.'s America Invents Act); An office action has not been issued by either office; Claim count limitation – 3 independent/20 or less total claims; Claim scope of the KR application is identical to that of the U.S. counterpart; Applicant in both applications is identical; Application is directed to one single invention; and Application cannot have any multiple dependent claims.
	Potential Benefits of the Program No fees for utilizing the pilot program. Applications accepted under the CSP in Korea will receive expedited review by KIPO potentially receiving a first office action (or allowance) within five to six months, instead of 12 to 16 months, from the request for examination date. Notably, no separate fees are needed for the CSP as opposed to other methods of expediting examination. CSP offers a new option for accelerated examination. Unlike the Patent Prosecution Highway, allowance need not be secured in one of the participating offices prior to expediting examination in another office. However, since each office has a quota of 200 applications per year, each office may procedurally restrict the number of approved petitions or the quota will be reached prior to the end of the year such that applications will no longer be accepted. Accordingly, applicants are advised to weigh the benefits of accelerated prosecution under the CSP against the procedural burdens of the CSP.
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