A few years ago the Israeli patent office (ILPO) has been appointed as an international examination and searching authority of the PCT, like the USPTO and the EPO. This act points on the quality of the search and examination carried out by of the Israeli Patent Office.
The Israeli Patent Office provides an accelerated examination course, which decreases the time it usually takes to start a patent examination, which is 2-5 years, depending on the field of the invention, and the current overload of examined patent applications. In the accelerated course, an examination starts a few month after the accelerated course has been allowed.
From our experience, a Notice of Allowance can be issued in less than one year from the filing date. However, our "record" is obtaining a Notice of Allowance within 9 days from the filing date. Yes, nine days from the filing date. Unbelievable !!! Thus, an applicant that takes the accelerated course may have a reliable opinion about the patentability of his invention in less than one year from the application date. In comparison, the PCT course provides a Written Opinion in about 18 months from the filing / priority date.
The Israeli Patent Office and the US Patent and Trademark Office have signed on a PPH agreement. In addition such agreement has been signed between the Israeli Patent Office and the European Patent Office. Thus, upon obtaining a Notice of Allowance in Israel, a patent applicant can accelerate the examination of his US and European parallel patent applications.
In addition, the PCT fees are significantly lower in comparison to the American and European patent offices.
Indeed, an exceptional course in the patent world, which is worthwhile to exploit.
