Europe, US and Japan create joint patent document

(PARIS) - The patent offices of Europe, Japan and United States announced Wednesday they had created a joint patent information document that should speed the work of companies and cut costs.

The common citation document will list all prior patents cited by examiners in reviews of applications as well their comments, and will be accessible online.

"It is a very important advance," said Benoit Battistelli, head of the European Patent Office.

It is a "concrete improvement that will save lots of time and money for patent seekers," he added.

The head of the US Patent and Trademark Office, David Kappos, said the joint document was created at the urging of companies, who stand to save hundreds of millions of dollars of the billions they spend each year on patent work.

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