It added that it would be monitoring the pilot scheme to determine if it should be fully implemented.

The Canadian Intellectual Property Office said it was pleased to announce its part in the programme.

The full list of participating offices is: IP Australia, Canadian Intellectual Property Office, Danish Patent and Trademark Office, National Board of Patents and Registration of Finland, Hungarian Intellectual Property Office, Icelandic Patent Office, Israel Patent Office, Japan Patent Office, Korean Intellectual Property Office, Nordic Patent Institute, Norwegian Industrial Property Office, Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property, Russian Federal Service for Intellectual Property, Spanish Patent and Trademark Office, Swedish Patent and Registration Office, UK IPO and USPTO.

The European Patent Office and the State Intellectual Property Office in China are among those not involved in the scheme.