The IPO and INPI signed a PPH agreement on 28 March at the 10th UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) in London. The UK meets Brazil annually, using JETCO as a forum to pursue UK trade policy and commercial interests in Brazil.

The Agreement was signed by Andy Bartlett, IPO Divisional Director, and Mauro Maia, Executive Director of INPI. The signing was witnessed by Secretary of State for the Department of Trade, Rt Hon Liam Fox and his counterpart, acting Minister of Industry, Trade and Foreign Service, Marcos Jorge de Lima.

Mr Bartlett welcomed the agreement:

This agreement has obvious practical value to innovators seeking international patent protection. It is also symbolic of a more open and strategic approach by the Brazilian government on IP.

This bilateral PPH builds on work initiated under the UK-Brazil Memorandum of Understanding on IP. It will support UK and Brazilian businesses looking to trade in each other’s markets. It will also reinforce the already excellent relationship between the IP Offices of both countries.

Under the PPH program, an applicant whose claims are accepted by one office, can request faster processing of a co-pending application. The PPH can significantly speed up the process of gaining a patent and help minimise the associated costs to the applicant.

This is one of a number of initiatives launched in Brazil this month. Last week, the IPO and Oxentia, Oxford University’s Global Innovation Consultancy, launched a version of the Lambert Toolkit in Brazil. This toolkit helps academia and industry to carry out research projects together. We hope it encourages cross border technology transfer and joint projects between the countries.

Further information can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/ipo-launches-pph-agreement-and-ip-toolkit-with-brazil