During the 10th meeting of the UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) held in London, representatives of the Brazilian PTO and the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) have signed an agreement that may accelerate the analysis of patent applications. The agreement includes a pilot project of bilateral Patent Prosecution Highways (PPH). The programme, which will commence in the third quarter of 2018, builds on work initiated under the UK-Brazil Memorandum of Understanding on IP. It will support UK and Brazilian businesses via prioritized examination of patents already granted by one of the offices.
On average, the deadline is reduced from about 10 years (complete procedure) to nine months (time until the examination after entering the PPH). According to the Minister of Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, “patents granted with agility are essential to stimulate innovation and competitiveness of companies, including those who intend to invest in the foreign market. They also contribute to attracting investments to Brazil. “
The BPTO estimates that up to 100 patent applications per year may be included in the project. The technological fields will still be defined by the two institutes. Currently, Brazil has PPH projects with the United States, Japan, China, the European Patent Office and the Latin American countries (Prosur).
*Translated and adapted from the BPTO’s official webpage. You can check the official publication here