According to Japanese media reports, from August 2015, the Japan Patent Office and the United States Patent and Trademark Office will jointly examine and approve patent applications filed by Japan and the United States. The Japanese and American authorities will share investigation information and refer to each other's judgment results to greatly improve work efficiency and speed up the approval process. The time required for companies in both countries to apply for patents is also expected to be shortened.

Currently, Japan's patent approval process takes about 10 months, and it will be shortened to about 6 months in the future. Since approvals in both Japan and the US will end at the same time, it will be easier for companies to launch new products in both countries at the same time.

Japanese media said that the patent offices of Japan and the United States reached a consensus on the joint examination and approval framework on the 21st of this month. Allegedly, this will be the first time that the JPO has implemented joint approval with overseas authorities, and it is also the first time in the world. Initially, the upper limit will be hundreds of applications per year, and simultaneous approval applications submitted by enterprises will be accepted. In the future, the number of joint approval applications will be gradually increased.

It is reported that if the framework can be used, the patent application environment for Japanese companies will be significantly improved. In the past, when examining a patent, it was necessary to investigate whether the same invention existed in the past and whether it had patent value, and then the authorities of each country judged whether to grant the patent right.

This time, Japan and the United States will share information on patent approval, such as the huge paper database and patent application materials that are important review materials, so as to improve work efficiency. The approval results are independently judged by the authorities of the two countries, but they will discuss and synthesize their respective important points in advance, so as to reduce the risk of overlooking similar inventions and making wrong judgments.