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Quality of the Patent Grant Process

Prepared for the 29th Session of

the Standing Committee on the Law of Patents

3rd to 6th December 2018

Wong Chee Leong (Dr)

Principal Patent Examiner / Division Lead, Quality Division

Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

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Quality Management Process (ISO 9001:2015 certified)

Policy, objectives,

management

review

QC, QA, internal

audit

Application

formalities, search

and examination

Staff, training,

resources

Users

Input

(Applications)

Users

Customer

feedback

Output

(Reports,

granted patents)

Consultation

2

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Procedures for Maintaining Quality

Search and

ExaminationFiling Grant

Notice of

Decision

Formalities

Examination

• Search Team

Discussion

• Internal

Documentation

• Quality Check

Quality Control

• Random sampling

of work products

Quality Assurance

Customer

Feedback

• Internal

Documentation

• Quality Check

Formalities check

3

Customer

Feedback

• Internal

Documentation

• Quality Check

Formalities check

Customer

Feedback

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Quality Procedures in Search and

Examination

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Quality Objectives

Validity Reliability

Search

• Appropriate search strategy.

• Comprehensive set of

authoritative information sources.

• Sufficient documentation to

permit reproducible and

consistent search result.

Examination

• Correct interpretation of the law

and logically applied to arrive at a

sound decision.

• Clear communication of the

decision and its basis to the

customer.

• Consistent approach based on

an open and transparent set of

Guidelines.

• Considerations for arriving at the

decision have been documented

to show that Guidelines have

been followed during

examination.

5

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Procedures for Maintaining Quality

Search and

ExaminationFiling Grant

Notice of

Decision

Formalities

Examination

• Search Team

Discussion

• Internal

Documentation

• Quality Check

Quality Control

• Random sampling

of work products

Quality Assurance

Customer

Feedback

• Internal

Documentation

• Quality Check

Formalities check

6

Customer

Feedback

• Internal

Documentation

• Quality Check

Formalities check

Customer

Feedback

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Organization of Patent Examiners

Division 1

Biotech

[Quality Control]

Division Lead

Supervisors

Examiners

QC QC

Division 2

Chemistry and

Materials

Q QC

Division 3

Engineering

QC QC

Division 4

ICT &

Computer-

implemented

inventions

QC QC

Quality Division

[Quality Assurance]

Division Lead QA Examiners

QA QA QA

7

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8

Quality Control (QC)

Internal

Examiner

QC

SupervisorBuddy

Internal

Documentation

Reports Reports

Search Team

Discussion

Examiner

QC

Supervisor

Search

Strategy

Search & examination

Report draftingQuality Check

Non-conformity

To

customer

(No prior search results)

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Quality Assurance (QA)

Division 1

Output after

Quality ControlReports Reports Reports Reports Reports

Division 2

Output after

Quality ControlReports Reports Reports Reports Reports

Division 3

Output after

Quality ControlReports Reports Reports Reports Reports

Division 4

Output after

Quality ControlReports Reports Reports Reports Reports

Quality Division

Reports Reports Reports

Reports Reports

Sampling Check

Quality-

related data

QA

QA Examiners

QA QA

9

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Feedback and Communication

Quality Division

Division 1 Division 2

Division 3 Division 4

Customer feedback:

• Complaints procedure

• Satisfaction survey

• Direct engagement

Sampling of work products

during QA

Feedback on issues with

procedures and practices,

areas lacking in guidance

Identify potential gaps in

procedures and processes

(feedback to management)

Consolidate and share quality

issues and practice adjustments

Update Guidelines and other

resources

• Assess training needs and

conduct relevant training

• Adjustments to quality checks

during QC

10

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Continuous Learning & Development

IP-related seminars

• Acquire broad-based IP knowledge.

Technical-related seminars

• Maintain knowledge in technical domain.

Site visits

• Improve awareness of state-of-the-art technology.

11

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Thank you!