Singapore, 11 June 2009 – The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) will introduce two new work-sharing programmes. IPOS and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) signed a Statement of Intent today for a new pilot co-operation initiative called the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) which will be launched on 1 July 2009. The other programme is the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC) project which was launched yesterday. The purpose of these work-sharing initiatives is to reduce duplication of patent search and examination work done.
IPOS-JPO Patent Prosecution Highway (Effective from 1 Jul 09)
The PPH between IPOS and the JPO aims to accelerate the processing of patent applications in one patent office where the other patent office has already conducted the search and examination. With the PPH, each office will be able to exploit the work previously done by the other office.
At the JPO, the examination process will begin at a more informed level, which will not only allow quicker processing of patent applications but also improve patent quality. At IPOS, the granting process of patent applications will be accelerated by utilising the search and examination work done by the JPO.
A new feature in the IPOS-JPO PPH pilot programme is that applicants can use search and examination results from the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom or the United States, as accepted by IPOS, as basis for requesting the PPH at the JPO.
Singapore joins the growing network of IP offices co-operating to deal with the avalanche of patent applications worldwide with the IPOS-JPO PPH. This is the second PPH pilot programme that IPOS is involved with. The first PPH pilot programme was with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which was launched in February 2009. This pilot programme is scheduled for one year.
ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (Effective from 15 Jun 09)
The ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC) project is a work-sharing programme initiated by IPOS. The IP Offices participating in the ASPEC are Singapore, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam IP Offices. With the ASPEC, a patent applicant who has filed an application for a corresponding invention in two or more participating ASEAN IP Offices can provide the examination report to the other participating ASEAN IP Offices for use as a reference in their examination process. By doing so, the applicant may enjoy faster search and examination turnaround time in the receiving IP Office.
“We are happy to work with the various IP offices in these work-sharing initiatives to reduce duplication of efforts. The IPOS-JPO PPH applicants will be able to benefit from the shorter processing time for their applications which will allow them to obtain quicker patent protection,” said Ms Liew Woon Yin, Director-General of IPOS.
Further details of both programmes are available at www.ipos.gov.sg. Please click here for the Annex on the Notice on the PPH pilot programme between the JPO and IPOS as well as the Notice on the ASPEC project.
We cordially invite you to cover the signing of Statement of Intent (SOI) by IPOS and the JPO for the Patent Prosecution Highway. Details are as follows:
Date: Tuesday 16 June 2009
Time: 11.00am to 12.00pm
Venue: 51 Brash Basah Rd, Plaza by the Park
#06-01, Promise Room
Singapore 189554
Programme:
11.00am Media registration
11.30am Welcome address by Ms Liew Woon Yin, Director-General, Intellectual
Property Office of Singapore
11.35am Speech by Mr Takashi Suzuki, Commissioner, Japan Patent Office
11.40am Signing of Statement of Intent (SOI)
11.50am Question & Answer session
12.00pm End
Please RSVP by Monday, 15 June 2009 to Mei Jue at +65 6331 6581 or tan_mei_jue@ipos.gov.sg
For media enquiries, please contact:
Tan Mei Jue (Ms)
Public Relations Department
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
DID: +65 6331 6581
Fax: +65 6331 6562
Email: tan_mei_jue@ipos.gov.sg
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory board under the Ministry of Law since April 2001, is the lead government agency that advises on and administers intellectual property (IP) laws, promotes IP awareness and provides the infrastructure to facilitate the development of IP in Singapore. With IP fast becoming a critical resource in today’s new economy, IPOS’ vision is to foster a creative Singapore where ideas and intellectual efforts are valued, developed and exploited. More information on IPOS can be found on www.ipos.gov.sg.
The Japan Patent Office (JPO), a government agency in the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), is in charge of policymaking, administration (e.g., examination of applications, granting of rights, review of relevant practices), and information dissemination, inter alia, with respect to the industrial property system including the patent, utility model, industrial design, and trademark systems. The JPO contributes to industrial development through adequate protection and effective utilization of inventions and other forms of intellectual creations, and has been playing a central role in Japan’s efforts to be an “intellectual property-based nation.” More information on the JPO can be found on www.jpo.go.jp.