15. Juni 2022
On 14 June,
President Campinos held a virtual meeting with Julián Fernando Palacín Gutiérrez, Executive President of Peru’s National Institute for the Defence of Competition
and the Protection of Intellectual Property (INDECOPI). It was the first
time the two heads of office have met since Mr Palacín was appointed last year.
The meeting provided both offices with an opportunity to exchange on the latest
news and respective activities, discuss their co-operation, and plan for the
future.
Following an
introduction, the President provided his counterpart with an overview of
several topics. He outlined the New Ways of Working pilot and highlighted
several SP2023 achievements in projects related to digital transformation and
quality.
Later in the
virtual meeting, the delegations discussed the future of the bilateral Patent
Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme. Through the programme, partner offices
utilise each other’s PCT or national work products on corresponding patent
applications, enabling applicants to obtain patents in a faster and more
efficient manner. The initial pilot commenced on 2 January 2020 for a period of
three years, however, the EPO and INDECOPI delegations agreed to work towards a
permanent extension from January 2023 onwards.
At the end of
April 2022, the EPO and INDECOPI signed two Memorandums of Understanding – one
on Reinforced Partnership (RP) and another on Cooperative Patent Classification
(CPC). To further strengthen relations between the offices, the President and
Mr Palacín signed a bilateral co-operation work plan for 2022-2023 during their
meeting. The plan covers the re-use of EPO work products, several activities
related to the implementation of the CPC and improved data exchange.
While their
first meeting was virtual, the President and Mr Palacín will have an
opportunity to meet in person in Geneva at the margin of the WIPO General
Assemblies in July.