43rd annual Trilateral Conference in the US
The Trilateral Offices, comprising the European Patent Office (EPO), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), met on 20-21 October at the USPTO headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia for their 43rd annual meeting. The meeting was hosted by Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and USPTO Director John A. Squires, who welcomed EPO Vice-President Steve Rowan and JPO Commissioner Yasuyuki Kasai for discussions on strategies to enhance patent quality and operational efficiency through advanced information technology (IT) tools. The World Intellectual Property Organization also participated as an observer, represented by Deputy Director General Lisa Jorgenson.
Together with industry sector representatives from the Trilateral regions – BusinessEurope, the Japan Intellectual Property Association, the American Intellectual Property Law Association and the Intellectual Property Owners Association, the Offices reviewed key developments in the rapidly evolving patent landscape and their impact on patent office practices and procedures. The meeting highlighted patent filing trends across technologies and regions and explored how IT and artificial intelligence (AI) tools can help patent offices address new challenges and improve efficiency.
“This year’s Trilateral meeting underlined the importance of advanced IT and AI tools in enhancing quality and efficiency in the patent system worldwide. The Trilateral is an important forum for collaboration. It is a space where new ideas can take shape and approaches promoted that can deliver meaningful impact for users. The EPO remains committed to this spirit of co-operation – focusing on its core business of providing quality, timely and legally robust patents, while embracing new technologies that strengthen the global patent system for today and into the future."
In a collaborative session, the offices and industry stakeholders exchanged views on the tools and systems employed by each office, sharing insights on their implementation and best practices. The offices also discussed recent developments in patent law relating to AI in their respective jurisdictions and considered ways to promote greater alignment in the treatment of AI-related inventions.
Looking ahead, the Trilateral Offices reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing collaboration within the Trilateral framework. They will explore AI-related co-operation opportunities that incorporate the feedback received from Industry Trilateral to achieve efficiency and quality. The Trilateral Offices agreed to establish a Trilateral AI Working Group that will collaborate on creating a Trilateral AI Vision. The working group aims to report its findings at the 44th Annual Trilateral Conference, which the EPO will host in Vienna, Austria.
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