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Which Patent Office Does It Best? Survey Says: "The EPO"

By Peter Zura

Joff Wild at the IAM Blog reported on an on-going benchmarking survey being conducted by IAM magazine and Thomson Reuters on various patent-related topics.  Recently they asked questions to various professionals regarding patent quality at the larger patent offices.

IN-HOUSE SURVEY RESULTS:

Examination Quality is "Excellent" or Very Good"

EPO - 70%

USPTO - 56%

JPO - 54%

KIPO (Korea) - 25%

SIPO (China) - 18%

Overall, Patent Quality Has Improved/Stayed the Same/Gotten Worse

EPO:  improved = 26%, stayed the same = 71%, got worse = 3%

USPTO: improved = 23%, stayed the same = 61%, got worse = 16%

JPO: improved = 17%, stayed the same = 78%, got worse = 5%

KIPO: improved = 34%, stayed the same = 61%, got worse = 5%

SIPO: improved = 58%, stayed the same = 37%, got worse = 5%

(interestingly, the USPTO's "got worse" rating is over triple the amount of any other office)

PRIVATE PRACTICE SURVEY RESULTS

Examination Quality is "Excellent" or Very Good"

EPO - 56% (-14)

USPTO - 38% (-18)

JPO - 40% (-14)

KIPO (Korea) - 21% (-4)

SIPO (China) - 20% (+2)

Overall, Patent Quality Has Improved/Stayed the Same/Gotten Worse

EPO: improved = 28%, stayed the same = 64%, got worse = 7%

USPTO: improved = 20%, stayed the same = 62%, got worse = 18%

JPO: improved = 19%, stayed the same = 77%, got worse = 4%

KIPO: improved = 30%, stayed the same = 67%, got worse = 3%

SIPO: improved = 56%, stayed the same = 42%, got worse = 2%

When asked "what are the biggest impediments to quality," the answers were
 
(1) the pressure to get examinations done more quickly;
(2) the sheer number of applications being submitted; and
(3) government regulations.
 
Joff notes

Clearly, the EPO is regarded as the pace-setter among the world's leading patent offices; both the Koreans and the Chinese have improved significantly, but still have work to do. What our respondents are telling us about the USPTO, meanwhile, only goes to emphasise the job that David Kappos has in front of him. That said, it seems to me that there are still far too many people who believe that none of the offices we asked about offer high enough standards. There is room for all of them to up their game, at least as far their users are concerned.

Read the post in its entirety here (link)

Full post as published by Two-Seventy-One Patent Blog on November 04, 2009 (boomark / email).