Europe and Mexico forge closer patent relations
The heads of the European Patent Office (EPO) and Mexico’s IP office have agreed to work more closely to support innovation in both regions.
EPO President Benoît Battistelli and Miguel Ángel Margáin, director general of the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI), met in Mexico City to discuss patent relations, according to a statement on Monday.
The focus of the cooperation in the coming year will be on sharing best practices on patent grant procedures, capacity-building, patent information and IT solutions, the statement said.
During the visit, Battistelli also met the Mexican minister of economy, Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, representatives of Mexican and European industry, and the Universidad Autónoma de México, “to exchange views on their needs and on how to improve the patent system”.
Battistelli said the meetings mark a new phase in efforts between the EPO and Mexico to foster IP protection in the two regions.
“European companies are among the most active users of the patent system in Mexico, filing a substantial share of all patent applications there.
“Building on our co-operation agreement signed last September, the EPO will support IMPI in its efforts to enhance its services to inventors and innovative businesses in Mexico. The EPO will share with IMPI its worldwide recognised experience in the development of quality services in the field of patents,” he said.
Margain said the EPO is a strategic ally of Mexico, “which will help meet the national objective of increasing the number of patents filed by Mexicans”.
In an interview with WIPR last year, Margain said 7.6 percent of patent filings are by nationals, but he wants to increase this to 10 percent.
The IMPI also plans to strengthen its co-operation with IP offices worldwide in order to modernise the IP system and give legal certainty to patent protection, Margáin added.
Co-operation between the EPO and the IMPI dates to the 1990s, when the EPO began providing expertise to the country to develop its patent grant procedure. Since then, a number of bilateral agreements have been signed, most recently in September 2013.
