Rethinking third-party observations at the European Patent Office
How can third-party observations be used more effectively to influence examination at the European Patent Office?
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Are you interested in accelerating the grant of your patent application? Does your invention provide some environmental benefit?
If so, consider the UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) ‘Green Channel’.
The Green Channel was introduced in May 2009 and allows applicants to request accelerated processing of their patent application, providing that they can prove that their invention has an environmental benefit.
Getting a patent application granted can be a long process – in the UK, this process typically takes around three to four years. In certain circumstances, accelerating this process may be beneficial, for example, to attract investment, to act against potential infringers, when negotiating licensing agreements, or to establish a likely scope of protection for the invention before seeking patent protection in other jurisdictions.
Additionally, accelerating the search may be particularly useful for applicants wanting to receive an early search report in order to quickly assess the patentability of their invention.
Accelerating the grant of a UK patent application may also be useful for accelerating examination of patent applications in other jurisdictions through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH). More details on the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) and participating patent offices can be found here.
The Green Channel is available to applicants who make a reasonable assertation that their invention has some environmental benefit. The environmental benefit is generally interpreted quite broadly, and the UKIPO will not conduct a detailed investigation into the applicant’s assertations. Nonetheless, the UKIPO will refuse requests that are clearly unfounded.
Importantly, applications are not restricted to a particular area of technology, i.e. they do not have to strictly involve a ‘green’ technology. For example, methods of manufacture with an improved energy efficiency or products comprising recyclable materials will be considered.
The Green Channel is not limited to UK national filings and can also be requested for the UK national phase of international (PCT) applications.
Making a request for the Green Channel is relatively straightforward and can be made on, or after, filing. Beneficially, there is no official fee for applying for the Green Channel.
To apply, applicants must make a request in writing, indicating the following:
1. How the application is environmentally-friendly?
For more obvious ‘green’ technologies, such as wind turbines, a simple statement on how the application is environmentally-friendly is likely enough. However, less obvious applications may need more explanation as to their environmental benefit.
2. Which actions they wish to accelerate
The applicant may request acceleration of any of the following actions: search, examination, combined search and examination, and/or publication. The action wished to be accelerated must be stated in the written request.
A key consideration for using the Green Channel is that costs may be more front-loaded. Under standard processing, certain fees can be delayed until later stages of prosecution (i.e. after 1 to 2 years from filing), allowing the applicant more time to develop the invention and assess whether the invention is commercially viable before committing to further costs.
As mentioned above, the Green Channel allows for accelerated publication. However, early publication must be carefully considered as it will put the invention into the public domain earlier than would be the case with standard processing. Whilst this may be useful in cases where there is a potential infringer, this may also alert competitors to the applicant’s activities sooner.
If you are interested in finding out more about the types of inventions that have been accelerated through the Green Channel, you can search all published applications and granted patents that have been accelerated under the Green Channel here. Simply use the search tool and select ‘Green Channel patents’ under the list of options.
If you need any advice on the UKIPO Green Channel, please contact us.