Fast Track for UK Patent Applications - July 2010

The UK Intellectual Property Office has recently introduced a new service for enabling patent applications to proceed rapidly to grant. The accelerated procedure applies to UK National Phase applications of International (PCT) patent applications.

In order to benefit from this procedure, the International Preliminary Report on Patentability (IPRP) must be positive and must not raise objections relating to novelty, inventive step or industrial applicability and there must be no claims that have not been examined. The procedure applies to all PCT applications and, in particular, it does not matter if the IPRP issued under Chapter I or Chapter II in the PCT phase.

This Fast Track procedure is available to all new applications entering the UK national phase as well as all existing UK national phase applications.

Once a request for acceleration is filed, an examination report should issue within two months and accelerated grant may be achieved. Please note there is no official fee for requesting this Fast Track procedure.

There are other options for achieving an accelerated grant of patent applications which have not received a positive IPRP. In addition, it should be remembered that there are procedures for accelerating patent applications which have not been through the PCT route.