Triway Pilot Program

The Trilateral Offices (European Patent Office (EPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO) and United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will commence the search sharing project Triway Pilot Program on July 28, 2008.

Purpose of the Triway Pilot Program

Triway is the framework in which the Office of Second Filing and the Office of Third Filing utilize the search results of the Office of First Filing, so that each Trilateral Office could eliminate the duplication of work for search and examination, and in which applicants receive the search (and examination) results from each Office within a certain short time period so that they could proceed (ex. amend the claims) under the consideration of all the Trilateral Offices' results at the same time.

The pilot program will be implemented in order to test the effect of this framework

Outline of the Traiway Pilot Program

(1)Eligible Applications

An application must be filed at the USPTO as the Office of First Filing. A corresponding application claiming priority to the U.S. application must be filed at the EPO and the JPO as the Office of Second Filing and the Office of Third Filing. The U.S. EP and JP application must be limited to be a single invention and the claims of the 3 applications must sufficiently correspond.

The Triway pilot program is limited to 100 applications of diverse technologies. In order to ensure that the 100 applications are from diverse technologies, the USPTO will accept 15 requests for participation in the program for U.S. applications assigned to each Technology center.

(2) Procedures

• 1) A volunteer applicant will file an application at the USPTO as the Office of filing and request for participation in the Triway pilot program. Then the applicant will file a corresponding application claiming priority to the U.S. application at the EPO and the JPO within 4 months from the filing of the U.S. application.
• 2) The USPTO will make a search report in the form of a PCT/ISA/210 and fax its copy to the applicant within 6 months from the filing of the U.S. application
• 3) The applicant will file a copy of the USPTO and will request participation in the Triway pilot program at the EPO.
• 4) The EPO will conduct its Extended European Search Report (EESR) process and provide the EESR for the applicant.
• 5) The applicant will file a copy of the EESR at the USPTO as well as will list the art cited in the EESR on IDS.
• 6) The applicant will file a request for the accelerated examination at the JPO by submitting "The Explanation of Circumstances Concerning Accelerated Examination". In this document the applicant will describe to the effect that the application is in process under the Triway pilot program and will attach the copies of the USPTO search report and the EESR respectively. It should be also noted that the applicant must describe the comparison between the claimed invention and the art cited in the search reports.
• 7) The JPO will conduct the search and examination under the framework of the conventional accelerated examination, considering the art cited in the USPTO search report and the EESR and will provide the first action for the applicant.
• 8) The applicant will file a copy of the JP office action at the EPO and the USPTO. In the case of the USPTO, in addition, the applicant will submit an English translation of the JP office action, an accuracy statement and the IDS on which the art cited in the JP office action will be listed.
• 9) The USPTO will take up the U.S. application for examination, considering the search results of all three Offices, as special since the special status has been granted to it.

(3) Trial Period

The Triway pilot program will end on July 28, 2009 (1 year after the commencement) or upon the acceptance of 100 requests submitted to the USPTO as the Office of First Filing, whichever occurs first. * The Triway pilot program ended on July 28, 2009.

Procedures to the JPO

As mentioned in the above (2) f), an applicant must file a request for the accelerated examination at the JPO by submitting "The Explanation of Circumstances Concerning Accelerated Examination"in accordance with "The Guideline of the Accelerated Examination and Appeal (Japanese only)".

In "the Circumstances"of the document "The Explanation of Circumstances Concerning Accelerated Examination", the applicant must describe to the effect that a corresponding application is filed at the USPTO and the EPO and its application number or publication number respectively. (Please refer to p. 18 of the above Guideline.) It must be also described the effect that the application is in process under the Triway pilot program.

In order to the prompt process at the JPO, it is recommended to submit the document "The Explanation of Circumstances Concerning Accelerated Examination"on-line.

Regarding the example of "The Explanation of Circumstances Concerning Accelerated Examination",please click here.<PDF 111KB>

◎Link to the USPTO’s Triway page

◎Link to the EPO’s Triwsage

Japanese page

[Last updated 30 July 2009]