The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Ministries’) held the 4th Review meeting under Memorandum of Cooperation on Industrial Property through a virtual platform on 12th March 2021.

The first phase of the meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Secretary, DPIIT & Mr. ToshihideKasutani, Commissioner, JPO wherein first year of the pilot Patent Prosecution Highway(PPH) program was reviewed and both sides agreed to recognize each other’s Offices to act mutually as competent ISA/IPEA. The second phase of the meeting was co-chaired by Shri Ravinder, Joint Secretary, DPIIT and Mr. ToshihideKasutani.

The Ministries reviewed the progress under the Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on industrial property between India and Japan and the Action Plan between the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (CGPDTM) of India and the JPO (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Offices’) based on the MoC, and confirmed the views to further deepen the cooperative relationship between both the Offices for the future cooperation.

At the meeting, the Ministries reconfirmed, amidst the challenging times of the Covid19 pandemic, the importance of innovations that support our society and the essence of a robust Industrial Property system for promoting investment and innovation.

The Ministries acknowledged the importance of strengthening IP enforcement, enhancing capacity building, raising IP awareness and encouraging innovation to promote their goals.

The DPIIT expressed its appreciation to the JPO for its cooperation in conducting training programs to welcome trainees from India since the last meeting and the JPO agreed to continue conducting the invitational training programs for Indian stakeholders.

Recognizing the importance of industrial designs as industrial property, the Ministries agreed to continue cooperation in industrial design education.

Both sides agreed to commence the function of Offices acting mutually as competent ISA / IPEA under the PCT, from July 1st, 2021. The Ministries also agreed to hold a meeting of experts, as needed, for smooth and appropriate operation.

They decided to hold a meeting at least once a year of experts to discuss the functioning of the Japan-India Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program. They agreed to continue holding an Information Exchange Program of patent experts from the Offices to further enhance mutual understanding of the patent examination practices.They also agreed to hold the IT Experts Meeting once a year between the Offices to share information and experiences on initiatives regarding development of IT infrastructure.

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YB/SS