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The consultation,  kicked off by Lord Triesman, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Intellectual Property and Quality, is being led by the UK Intellectual Property Office (UK-IPO) and takes forward proposals made in the Gowers review of Intellectual Property.

Lord Triesman said, "I welcome this consultation on proposed new fast track services for processing patent and trade mark applications. The proposals provide important new tools for businesses - both large and small - in providing fast track routes to the grant of a patent or the registration of a trade mark. I look forward to hearing the views of interested parties on the proposed services."

Ian Fletcher, Chief Executive of the UK Intellectual Property Office said: "The proposed fast track services help applicants for patents and trade marks that choose to use the system, get an early decision on their patent or trade mark. I await with interest the results of the consultation."

The Gowers Review of Intellectual Property, published on 6 December 2006, recommended that new accelerated processes for granting patents and registering trade marks be introduced (Recommendations 25a and 25b).

A key difference from the existing procedures for patents is that fast-track processing will be available as of right upon payment of a fee (£400-£600).

No form of accelerated examination currently exists for trade mark applications. The consultation proposes a new system which will enable applicants to request examination within 10 business days as opposed to the 4-6 week time a standard application will take. A premium fee of £300 is proposed for a fast track application.

Related links

• UK-IPO
• Consultation papers
• Gowers Review of Intellectual Property