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1 February 2010

IP5 Launch New Website

The five largest intellectual property offices in the world have launched a new website, www.fiveipoffices.org. The five IP offices, known as IP5, are the European Patent Office (EPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People's Republic of China (SIPO).

The IP5 Offices account for 90% of all patent applications filed worldwide and for 93% of all work carried out under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). They aim to reduce the current backlog of patent applications at each office.

The website details their plan to use global co-operation to improve the efficiency of the examination process for patents worldwide. It includes information on their 10 Foundation Projects, devised to harmonise the search and examination environment of each office.