Bilateral Meeting between IP Philippines and JPO

Bilateral talks were held between the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) and Japan Patent Office (JPO) at the IP Philippines offices in Makati City recently.

Officials from IP Philippines and JPO discussed and agreed on the proposed adjustments in the joint memorandum between the two agencies on JPO's capacity as International Searching Authority (ISA) for IP Philippines under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The PCT, signed in Washington, D.C. in the United States in 1970, provides for a unified procedure, which is simpler, easier and more cost-effective than traditional procedures, allowing an inventor to file and obtain patent protection for his invention in more than one country.

The JPO is among the 12 ISAs appointed by some 128 PCT Contracting States to carry out an international search to find out the most relevant prior art (information) regarding an application. Other ISAs include the patent offices of Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Europe, Finland, Korea, Russia, Spain, Sweden and the United States.

The specific amendment discussed in Manila called for a change in the currency of the search fee paid by applicants, through IP Philippines remitted to JPO, from Japanese yen to US dollars to address the possibility of currency deficit problems in the future.

The Japanese representatives also presented JPO's PCT functions as well as developments and reforms to IP Philippines personnel involved in the implementation and administration of the PCT, which provided them further understanding and appreciation of the treaty and its applications.

Shown in photo are (from left): Fusako Akutsu and Mikiko Shiina, JPO Formality Examiners; Kazuo Hoshino, JPO Senior Administrative Coordinator for PCT Affairs; Adrian S. Cristobal Jr., IP Philippines Director General; Ireneo Galicia, IP Philippines Deputy Director General; Epifanio Evasco, IP Philippines Bureau of Patents Director and Nadine Abella, IP Philippines IPR Specialist II.