The Catalogue of Differing Practices (CDP) is a tool aimed at identifying the differences in patent examination practice in the IP5 Offices. It is also a first step towards a reference guide which allows the reader to quickly understand the practice in the other offices without requiring a detailed knowledge of the underlying legislative systems.
The CDP is part of an ongoing process undertaken by the IP5 to support work-sharing and operational practice convergence between the Offices.
Download the Catalogue of Differing Practices 2012 (PDF, 459 KB)
In 2012, the IP5 Offices redrafted the part of the CDP that deals with prior art disclosures. The redrafting was done as a pilot project, to test how to make the CDP more user friendly and provide a quick overview of the differences in practice at the five offices.
Redrafted CDP section on prior art disclosures (PDF, 206 KB)