The officials, from the IP offices of China, Brazil, Egypt, Mexico and India, gathered in Alexandria, Virginia for the talks which included a discussion about the results of the Foreign-Examiner-In-Residence (FEIR) pilot programme – the first international cooperative training programme for patent examiners.

So far, 15 patent examiners from the countries represented at the meeting have successfully completed the eight-month FEIR training programme, which ran from May 2007 to January 2008. The pilot scheme was modeled after the USPTO’s eight-month Patent Training Academy programme for new examiners, and included training in US patent law and procedures, as well in skills such as communication and time and stress management.

“This provides a foundation for future bilateral and multilateral joint programmes and work-sharing efforts,” said USPTO director Jon Dudas.

A statement released by the USPTO said that the six offices also committed to “continue cooperation on examiner training and to work together to improve efficiency and patent quality”.

In November, the USPTO also hosted the 25th annual meeting of the Trilateral Patent Offices, where the EPO, JPO and USPTO pledged to “coordinate work sharing; develop a means to improve quality of applications; coordinate electronic business developments; harmonize or standardize search strategies, tools and procedures; and promote dissemination of patent information”.