Heads of the World’s Five Largest Intellectual Property Offices to Focus Co-operation on Initiatives that Benefit Users

The heads of the world’s five largest intellectual property offices met virtually on 23 June. The 14th annual meeting of the IP5, as the offices are collectively known,was  hosted  by  the  Japan  Patent  Office  (JPO),  and  attended by the  European  Patent  Office  (EPO), the  Korean  Intellectual  Property  Office  (KIPO),  the China National  Intellectual  Property  Administration  (CNIPA),  and  the  United  States  Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Together, the IP5 account for around 80% of  all  patent  applications  filed  worldwide.  The  World  Intellectual  Property  Organization (WIPO) attended the meeting as an observer.

The meeting was chaired by Kasutani Toshihide, Commissioner of the JPO, with the  participation  of  António  Campinos,  President  of  the EPO; Kim  Yongrae, Commissioner of KIPO; Shen Changyu, Commissioner of the CNIPA; and Drew Hirshfeld,  Performing  the  functions  and  duties  of  the  Under  Secretary  of  Commerce  for  Intellectual  Property  and  Director  of  the USPTO.  On  behalf  of  Daren Tang,  Director  General  of  the  WIPO,  Lisa  Jorgenson,  Deputy  Director  General of WIPO, attended the meeting as an observer.

Since the  launch  of  IP5  co-operation  in  2007,  the  IP5  offices have  been  advancing joint projects and initiativesto promote an efficient, cost-effective and user-friendly international patent system. 

At this year’s annual meeting, the IP5 noted the significance of identifying user needs in a timely and accurate manner, and of providing tangible outcomes that are meaningful to users.They acknowledged two major outcomes, and agreed to promote these steadily in the future, with a view to delivering benefits to offices and users:

1.   A new emerging technologies and artificial intelligence (NET/AI) roadmap, which  outlines  potential collaborative  opportunities  for  the  IP5  offices  to  enhance  operational  efficiency  and  services  through  the  use  of  new  emerging  technologies  and  AI,  as  well  as  to  address  new  challenges  concerning the acquisition of rights to these technologies.The roadmap will serve as a blueprint for future IP5 joint endeavors.

2.   The launch of two new projects to further improve the alignment of patent practices  and  procedures  among  the  IP5  offices  with  the  aim  of  makingpatent prosecution more user-friendly: i) A global assignment to harmonize streamlined procedures for the transfer of rights; and ii) The harmonization of  allowable  features  in  drawings  in  order  to standardize  requirements regarding size, color/monochrome, etc.

A  separate  meeting  took  place  between the heads  of office  and  industry associations  from  the  IP5  regions,  namely:  the  American  Intellectual  Property  Law Association (AIPLA), BusinessEurope (BE), the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), the Japan Intellectual Property Association (JIPA), the Korea Intellectual Property Association (KINPA), and the Patent Protection Association of China (PPAC).

In this meeting, participants discussed co-operation between the IP5 offices and users in the post-COVID-19 era, and IP5 endeavors concerning NET/AI and the harmonization of patent practices and procedures.The IP5 industry associationsexpressed their support for the IP5 offices' initiatives and confirmed that they will continue  to  engage  in  dialogue  and  co-operation with  the IP5 offices  and  industries.

The IP5 offices    reaffirmed  that  IP  plays  an  essential  role  in  protecting  and  promoting innovations to overcome COVID-19 and boosting economic recovery. The  IP5  offices  then had  an  exchange  on  their  respective initiatives  to help address social challenges through the use of intellectual property rights (IPRs), and acknowledged the necessity of taking a long-term perspective on IPRs   and their integral role in addressing social challenges.

The next IP5 Heads of Office meeting will be hosted by the EPO in 2022.

Source：fiveIPoffices

Editor：IPRdaily-Vapor