Top > Press Releases > Back Issues > April 2010 > Conclusion of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Japan Patent Office and the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property
The Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Brazilian National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) concluded the Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on April 14 in Rio de Janeiro. In line with this memorandum, both offices will further mutual cooperation in areas such as information exchange, human resource development and utilization of information technology.
This initiative is expected to advance the promotion of more desirable environment for the IP rights system in both countries.
1. Background
Japan and Brazil have a long history of exchanges, as demonstrated by the fact that centenary of Japanese immigration to Brazil was celebrated two years ago. In addition, Brazil has recently emerged as a promising growth market and is playing an increasingly important role in the international community being one of the fast-growing BRICs economies.
The Japanese government, primarily the JPO, has been cooperating with Brazil by accepting trainees from the INPI and other institutes in the IP rights field over the past 30 years. Nowadays, the JPO supports the INPI in various ways, such as providing it with patent examination information through the Advanced Industrial Property Network*1.
The INPI has recently been reinforcing its organizational structure, almost tripling the number of both patent and trademark examiners over the past five years. The INPI has also enhanced its international presence in the intellectual property field, for example, by starting operations as an International Searching Authority*2 in August 2009.
*1: The JPO’s network through which patent examination information in the JPO is machine-translated into English and provided for patent offices overseas.
*2: An institution to conduct international searches regarding international applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) (as of April 2010, 14 national/regional patent offices, including the JPO, act as International Searching Authorities).
2. Conclusion of the MOC
The JPO and the INPI have been holding detailed discussions for the conclusion of the MOC since last year with the aim of confirming and strengthening their traditional partnership. The two offices concluded the MOC on April 14 in Rio de Janeiro and announced it at the third meeting of the Japan-Brazil Joint Committee on Promoting Trade and Investment, held in Brasilia on April 15 and 16.
Under the MOC, the JPO and the INPI will cooperate in activities including
(1) Information Exchange on IP Rights Systems and Practices
(2) Use of Information Technology (IT)
(3) Exchange of patent document data: Exchange of patent document data contained in the offices’ databases
(4) Statistical Data Sharing: Sharing of statistical data on IP administration
(5) IP Information Dissemination: Experience-sharing in the provision of IP information to the general public through communication means including the Internet
(6) Human Resource Development: Training of personnel in Brazil or Japan for IP administration, including examination
(7) Exchange of Experiences and Knowledge about the Role of the Offices: Exchange of experiences and knowledge about the role of the Offices as official entities engaged in promoting policies for the development of the industry, technology and economy
(8) Exchange of Experiences on General Management: Exchange of experience in general management of the Offices including human resources, qualification, finances, and quality control
(9) Expert Missions and Other Visits: Expert missions to discuss matters or carry out activities related to cooperative activities
The memorandum also stipulates the establishment of the Joint Committee to discuss cooperative activities and the execution of evaluation of such activities.
3. Next step
In line with the memorandum, the JPO and the INPI will work in cooperation to make the procedures under the IP rights system more transparent and rational and promote information exchange between both offices and the effective dissemination of information to the public.
The JPO will remain committed to strengthening partnerships with overseas IP authorities and seek to build a global IP rights system infrastructure.
Release Date
April 19, 2010
Division in Charge
International Affairs Division, Japan Patent Office
