Patent office launches international application tracking tool; FedScoop, 12/1/15

Whitney Blair Wyckoff, FedScoop; Patent office launches international application tracking tool:

"The Patent and Trademark Office has debuted a new online tool that it says will help those filing for intellectual property protections abroad.

Called Dossier Access, the service allows users to track the status of patents in the world’s five largest patent offices: the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the European Patent Office, the Korean Intellectual Property Office, China’s State Intellectual Property Office and the Japan Patent Office.

U.S. patents only offer protection for inventions in this country. To receive similar protections abroad, inventors must file with foreign patent offices as well, USPTO’s Deputy Commissioner for International Patent Cooperation Mark Powell told FedScoop. But that process can be expensive and complicated. Even checking the status of an application can be tricky because other offices' application documents are not always in English, he said."