Submission of Observations from Third Parties

April 2017
Examination Standards Office

The JPO accepts the submission of observations from third parties on account of the lack of novelty or inventive step, among others, with respect to pending patent applications in view of enhancing expeditiousness and appropriateness of patent examination (The third-party observation is based on Article 13 bis of the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Act).

In recent years, the number of third-party submissions has been around 7,000. Information regarding prior art contained in such observation is utilized in the examination procedure for notifications of reasons for refusal in approximately 73% cases (based on a survey on office actions in the month of December 2013).

The JPO started to accept information submission via the Internet in January 2009.

Third-party submission of observations containing useful information contributes to further expeditious and appropriate patent examination. The JPO aims to achieve the world’s fastest and highest quality patent examination with continued cooperation from the users of the patent system.

[Data] Changes in the Number of Third-party Submissions

1. Outline of the Third-party Observation System
2. Procedural Aspects
3. Relevant JPO Practices

[Last updated 20 November 2018]

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Examination Standards Office, Administrative Affairs Division, Japan Patent Office E-mail:PA2A10@jpo.go.jp