Brazil and France sign PPH and IP cooperation agreements

On 15 March 2022, the president of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) and the executive director of the French Patent Office entered into an agreement to implement a PPH pilot project between the two institutions. This project will last for five years and is due to begin on 1 May 2022. Each institution will define their respective criteria for participation.

At the same time, both countries also signed a technical cooperation agreement in intellectual property. This agreement may include the exchange of both information and best practices on the development of IP protection systems, stimulation of innovation, management, finance and quality, among other topics. Conducting IP training and participating in events are also included within the agreement’s scope.

Phase III of the National Institute of Industrial Property Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Programme came into effect on 11 January 2022 (see here). This programme is one of the INPI’s priority exam modalities and focuses on expediting the examination of Brazilian patent applications where the subject matter has been found patentable by a partner patent office. So far, the INPI has PPH agreements in force with offices in the following countries: Austria, China, Denmark, the European Union, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The INPI has also entered into fresh PPH agreements and renewed previous agreements with other offices. For instance, a memorandum of cooperation for the renewal of the PPH agreement between the INPI and the Japan Patent Office was signed on 9 November 2021. On 16 December 2021, the INPI and the Portuguese Patent and Trademark Office signed a memorandum of understanding to implement a PPH pilot project for patent applications filed in both offices for five years.