The IPO and INPI signed a PPH agreement on 28 March at the 10th UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in London. The UK meets Brazil annually, using JETCO as a forum to pursue UK trade policy and commercial interests in Brazil.
The Agreement was signed by Andy Bartlett, IPO Divisional Director, and Mauro Maia, Executive Director of INPI. The signing was witnessed by Secretary of State for the Department of Trade, Rt Hon Liam Fox and his counterpart, acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Foreign Service, Marcos Jorge de Lima.
Ministers witnessing the signing of the PPH agreement by Andy Bartlett and Mauro Maia.
Mr Bartlett welcomed the agreement:
This agreement has obvious practical value to innovators seeking international patent protection. It is also symbolic of a more open and strategic approach by the Brazilian government on IP.
This bilateral PPH builds on work initiated under the UK-Brazil Memorandum of Understanding on IP. It will support UK and Brazilian businesses looking to trade in each other’s markets. It will also reinforce the already excellent relationship between the IP Offices of both countries.
Under the PPH program, an applicant whose claims are accepted by one office, can request faster processing of a co-pending application. The PPH can significantly speed up the process of gaining a patent and help minimise the associated costs to the applicant.
This is one of a number of initiatives launched in Brazil this month. Last week, the IPO and Oxentia, Oxford University’s Global Innovation Consultancy, launched a version of the Lambert Toolkit in Brazil. This toolkit helps academia and industry to carry out research projects together. We hope it encourages cross border technology transfer and joint projects between the countries.
UK Embassy, Oxentia, INPI, IPO and University Center of Belo Horizonte colleagues launching the Brazilian version of the Lambert toolkit.
Our Brazilian IP attaché Angelica Garcia has been working to understand the enforcement conditions and legislative process in Brazil. She recently attended meetings with PROCON, the consumer enforcement agency in Sao Paulo and the UK-Brazil Parliamentary group.
Such information gathering activities help us understand the problems facing UK businesses. We can then tailor our advice to those seeking to register and protect IP rights in Brazil.
Angelica also attended the launch of the UK-Brazil Year of Science and Innovation in Rio – a celebration of bilateral science and innovation cooperation.
By cooperating on IP resources such as the Lambert toolkit and issues like granting of patents, we can build stronger and more effective national IP systems. This will support both UK and Brazilian businesses.
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