History
The widely used WIPO ST.25 format has certain limitations. This has prompted the Trilateral Offices (European Patent Office, Japanese Patent Office and United States Patent and Trademark Office) to create a new format, based on XML.
Status (at March 2011)
Work on the new XML format is at an advanced stage. The DTD, which forms the backbone of the standard, has been agreed by the working party of the Trilateral Offices. The content description is currently being reviewed.