SIPO inks IP plan with UK, agrees PPH with Brazil
China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has signed a bilateral work plan for 2018 with the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and agreed a patent prosecution highway (PPH) with Brazil.
On Wednesday, November 15, SIPO announced that commissioner Shen Changyu had signed the work plan with Tim Moss, comptroller general of the IPO, on November 10.
Shen said: “The IPO is an important and proven friend of SIPO. The two offices have achieved effective cooperation in high-level dialogues, patent examination exchanges and personnel training since establishing our partnership 20 years ago.”
The work plan features high-level talks, sharing of legal and policy information, exchange of patent examination and patent examiners, and the China-UK IP symposium.
Moss added: “The two offices have carried out practical cooperation in IP matters of mutual concern since our first agreement back in 1996, bringing tangible benefits to enterprises and people of the two countries."
In December last year, WIPR reported that the UK and China had strengthened IP ties during visits from officials to each country.
During the visits, 2017 bilateral work plans between the IPO and SIPO on patents and designs, between the IPO and China’s State Administration for Industry & Commerce on trademarks, and between the IPO and the National Copyright Administration of China were agreed.
Also on Wednesday, SIPO announced a PPH with the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI).
The pilot programme will be launched on February 1, 2018, allowing applicants who have been successful in obtaining a patent at one office to request accelerated examination at the other.
Shen said that the agreement will promote the development of the IP systems in the two countries, and will “provide quality services to users from both countries, elevate IP rights protection and public awareness, and build up a better IP environment”.
Luiz Pimentel, president of INPI, explained that China is the biggest trade partner and export country for Brazil, so IP cooperation will have an important impact on the economic and social development of the two countries.
“The parties have seen more profound cooperation and fruitful achievements in recent years. We hope that the signing of the new memorandum of understanding and PPH agreement will be a model of IP cooperation between BRICS countries, and will provide efficient and convenient service for IP users,” he concluded.
BRICS consists of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
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