diff --git a/Net/include/Poco/Net/HTTPRequest.h b/Net/include/Poco/Net/HTTPRequest.h
index 497ff26c6..1cf865507 100644
--- a/Net/include/Poco/Net/HTTPRequest.h
+++ b/Net/include/Poco/Net/HTTPRequest.h
@@ -136,6 +136,7 @@ public:
 	static const std::string HTTP_DELETE;
 	static const std::string HTTP_TRACE;
 	static const std::string HTTP_CONNECT;
+	static const std::string HTTP_PATCH;
 	
 	static const std::string HOST;
 	static const std::string COOKIE;
diff --git a/Net/include/Poco/Net/SocketAddress.h b/Net/include/Poco/Net/SocketAddress.h
index 164742d8b..d6ebd053a 100644
--- a/Net/include/Poco/Net/SocketAddress.h
+++ b/Net/include/Poco/Net/SocketAddress.h
@@ -91,6 +91,10 @@ public:
 		///     192.168.1.10:80
 		///     [::ffff:192.168.1.120]:2040
 		///     www.appinf.com:8080
+		///
+		/// On POSIX platforms supporting UNIX_LOCAL sockets, hostAndPort
+		/// can also be the absolute path of a local socket, starting with a 
+		/// slash, e.g. "/tmp/local.socket".
 
 	SocketAddress(Family family, const std::string& addr);
 		/// Creates a SocketAddress of the given family from a
diff --git a/Net/src/HTTPRequest.cpp b/Net/src/HTTPRequest.cpp
index 74d3a5824..61d7c6651 100644
--- a/Net/src/HTTPRequest.cpp
+++ b/Net/src/HTTPRequest.cpp
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ const std::string HTTPRequest::HTTP_OPTIONS        = "OPTIONS";
 const std::string HTTPRequest::HTTP_DELETE         = "DELETE";
 const std::string HTTPRequest::HTTP_TRACE          = "TRACE";
 const std::string HTTPRequest::HTTP_CONNECT        = "CONNECT";
+const std::string HTTPRequest::HTTP_PATCH          = "PATCH";
 const std::string HTTPRequest::HOST                = "Host";
 const std::string HTTPRequest::COOKIE              = "Cookie";
 const std::string HTTPRequest::AUTHORIZATION       = "Authorization";
diff --git a/Net/src/SocketAddress.cpp b/Net/src/SocketAddress.cpp
index 675edf319..1c2608394 100644
--- a/Net/src/SocketAddress.cpp
+++ b/Net/src/SocketAddress.cpp
@@ -285,6 +285,14 @@ void SocketAddress::init(const std::string& hostAndPort)
 	std::string port;
 	std::string::const_iterator it  = hostAndPort.begin();
 	std::string::const_iterator end = hostAndPort.end();
+	
+#if defined(POCO_OS_FAMILY_UNIX)
+	if (*it == '/')
+	{
+		newLocal(hostAndPort);
+		return;
+	}
+#endif
 	if (*it == '[')
 	{
 		++it;
diff --git a/Net/testsuite/src/SocketAddressTest.cpp b/Net/testsuite/src/SocketAddressTest.cpp
index e174c15f4..e54cedb21 100644
--- a/Net/testsuite/src/SocketAddressTest.cpp
+++ b/Net/testsuite/src/SocketAddressTest.cpp
@@ -170,6 +170,10 @@ void SocketAddressTest::testSocketAddressUnixLocal()
 	SocketAddress sa3(SocketAddress::UNIX_LOCAL, "/tmp/sock1");
 	assert (sa1 == sa3);
 	assert (!(sa1 < sa3));
+
+	SocketAddress sa4("/tmp/sock1");
+	assert (sa1 == sa4);
+	assert (sa4.toString() == "/tmp/sock1");
 #endif
 }