India and Japan have agreed to recognize the offices of each other in order to act in collaboration as “competent International Searching and International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA)” for the international patent application which are filed with them.
Highlights
The agreement was signed during 4th review meeting of “Department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT) and Japan Patent Office (JPO)” under memorandum of cooperation on industrial property. First phase of meeting was co-chaired by Guruprasad Mohapatra who is the secretary of DPIIT and Toshihide Kasutani who is the commissioner of JPO. During the meeting, first year of “pilot Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme” was reviewed. The second phase was co-chaired by Ravinder who is the joint secretary of DPIIT and Kasutani.
Agenda of the meeting
During the meeting, the countries reviewed the progress under the Memorandum of Cooperation on the industrial property between India and Japan. They also reviewed the Action Plan between the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) of India and JPO. The also shared and confirmed their views to deepen the cooperative relationship in between both the countries for future cooperation. They recognised the importance of innovations which support the society and essence of the robust Industrial Property system to promote the investment and innovation. They also acknowledge the importance of strengthening the IP enforcement, raising IP awareness, to enhance the capacity building and to encourage innovation. The countries also agreed to continue their cooperation in the field of industrial design education. They further agreed to commence the function of offices under the PCT from July 1, 2021.
Japan Patent Office (JPO)
JPO is a Japanese governmental agency which is the in charge of industrial property right affairs. It works under Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The office is located in Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is one among world’s largest patent office. It works with the objective of promoting the growth of Japanese economy and industry. The office administers the laws related to the patents, designs, utility models, and trademarks.