Patent processing time from filing to grant
Published 1 November 2023
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Date of release
4 December 2020
Information request:
1) i) What has been the shortest time period, from filing to grant (publication), for a UK patent application filed in the last 5 years?
ii) Was grant accelerated under any of
a) Green Channel
b) combined search and examination
c) accelerated search and examination
iii) what is the patent number?
2) i) What has been the shortest time period, from filing to grant (publication), for a UK patent application (filed in the last 5 years) under accelerated search and examination?
ii) what is the patent number?
3) i) What has been the shortest time period, from filing to grant (publication), for a UK patent application (filed in the last 5 years) under accelerated search and examination that did not publish until more than one year after filing?
ii) what is the patent number?
Information released:
1)A) Strictly speaking GB2546196, at 167 days, has the shortest period from filing to grant. It was accelerated under “Green channel” and “combined search and examination”. However, it should be noted that this case was a divisional.
B) With regard to non-divisional applications, GB2524203 and GB2575414 each took 205 days from filing to grant. GB2524203 was an “Accelerated combined search and examination” and GB2575414 was accelerated under “Green channel” and “combined search and examination”.
2) With due consideration to the two possible interpretations of the term, “accelerated search and examination”:
A) For patents which received separate, accelerated processing of each of the search and the examination actions (ie they were not processed together as a Combined Search and Examination) then GB2567574 took 257 days from filing to grant. It was not a green channel case.
B) For patents which received combined search and examination, the shortest period has already been provided in 1) above.
3) Similarly addressing the aforementioned ambiguity, and separately referencing divisional and non-divisional applications:
A) GB2528589 took 369 days to be published (from filing) and 446 days from filing to grant. It was a divisional and the search and examination were combined, but otherwise not accelerated.
B) GB2540228 took 379 days to be published (from filing) and 498 days from filing to grant. It is the fastest to grant, non-divisional which was published over 1 year from filing. The search and examination were combined, but otherwise not accelerated.
C) GB2577576 took 393 days to be published (from filing) and 505 days from filing to grant. The search and examination were combined and accelerated under Green channel.
D) GB2560396 took 376 days to be published (from filing) and 516 days from filing to grant. It is the fastest non-combined search and examination to grant published over a year from filing and is not a green channel case (the search and the examination were separately accelerated).