| Danial Norjidi |
THE Brunei Intellectual Property Office (BruIPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) yesterday signed an agreement to kick-start a new patent examination cooperation initiative called the Patent Prosecution Highway Plus (PPH+).
BruIPO was represented by Haji Mohamad Azmi bin Haji Mohd Hanifah, Permanent Secretary (Industry) at the Prime Minister’s Office in his capacity as Registrar of BruIPO, while JPO was represented by its Deputy Commissioner, Kunihiko Shimano.
The signing ceremony, which took place at the Design & Technology Building in Anggerek Desa, was witnessed by Motohiko Kato, Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam and Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Hamdan bin Haji Abu Bakar, Deputy Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office in his capacity as Acting Minister of Energy and Industry at the Prime Minister’s Office.
According to a press release, the PPH+ is a patent examination cooperation work sharing initiative by the JPO that aims to accelerate the examination process for corresponding patent applications from Japan and filed in participating intellectual property offices.
Under the PPH+ arrangement, each participating patent office will benefit from the work previously done by the other patent office, with the goal of reducing examination workload and improving patent quality.
To date, JPO has implemented PPH+ cooperation arrangement with most of the Asean member states’ intellectual property offices. The initiative will commence on October 1, 2017 and the guidelines on this framework will be posted on the JPO and BruIPO website.
BruIPO signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with JPO on May 24, 2015 to enhance cooperation in the field of industrial property, namely, trademarks, patents and industrial designs. Within the ambit of the MoC, JPO has supported BruIPO in developing its capacity through training and dispatch of experts as well as in compiling formality examination guidelines for patents.
Both BruIPO and JPO will continue to deepen their cooperation in the field of patents and promote cooperation in industrial property via the PPH+ initiative aimed at the industrial development of both parties. The cooperation between the two offices aims to make Brunei Darussalam’s business environment more conducive to foreign direct investment, which will contribute to the diversification of the national economy.
Further information on patent filing can be obtained from BruIPO’s helpdesk at the Business Support Centre (BSC) located at Level 1, Anggerek Desa Technology Park, while forms and fee schedule can be downloaded from BruIPO’s website at www.bruipo.gov.bn. Any enquiries on filing procedures can be directed to enquiries@bruipo.gov.bn or by contacting 223 0965/223 0966.
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