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Yesterday the USPTO announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) regarding a more comprehensive cooperation on patent examination. This agreement, signed on September 23rd, focuses on the sharing of work between the two patent offices whereby each office can use the results of the other office for its own patent application examination. According to the USPTO announcement (link below), to create the harmonized work environment, the two countries plan to move forward with various projects, including the establishment of a common search database, the development of a standardized patent classification system, common examiner training, and greater utilization of each other?s examination results, with the goal of the bilateral cooperation ?to allow each office to better use of each other?s resources and encourage reutilization of the work already done by the other office.? Additional information on the MOU and the USPTO/KIPO patent prosecution highway (PPH) are provided within the links below.

USPTO Announcement: LINK
USPTO/KIPO PPH Webpage: LINK

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