The UK IPO "Green Channel"
This article was included in our Winter 2009/10 edition of Inside IP.
A new “Green Channel” has been launched at the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO). This allows patent applications relating to environmentally friendly technologies to be given priority in the UK patent system. Under the new initiative, the time taken for the IPO to grant a UK patent from a new filing could be as little as nine months from the date of filing – significantly less than is normally the case. The Green Channel is available also for existing applications.
The Green Channel essentially allows all patent applications relating to “green” inventions to take advantage of the IPO’s accelerated search and examination procedures. Under these procedures, the IPO will, upon request, search and examine qualifying patent applications considerably faster than usual - giving the potential for very rapid grant.
Accelerated search and examination was previously available only to applicants with sufficiently good reason to justify the acceleration of their application. However, such justification is not required under the Green Channel. Applicants must simply make an acceleration request to the IPO and make an assertion, which the IPO will need to find to be reasonable, that the invention in the patent application is one which has some environmental benefit.