Global patent application backlog passes 4.2 million

The recent Global Symposium for Intellectual Property Authorities concluded on the need to pool efforts at the international level to address the problem of backlogs in patent applications.

Published data shows that the global backlog in unprocessed patent applications around the world in 2007 was a staggering 4.2 million. These backlogs have grown on average at a rate of 8.7% over the past five years.

It was considered that the main challenge of the future is to promote coordinated international action to enhance efficiency of operations and encourage dissemination of best practices in modernising the infrastructure, operations and management of IP offices.

New initiatives for work sharing were announced at the Symposium. These include the Vancouver group (Australia, Canada and UK) project for mutual exploitation of search and examination documents and a Latin American project to exchange search and examination data on patents and trademarks involving nine partners (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname and Uruguay, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank).