Patent Prosecution Highway announced between the UK and Brazil

The UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO) and the Brazilian Patent and Trademark Office (INPI) have announced a patent prosecution highway. The highway will allow applicants who have successfully obtained a patent in one jurisdiction to request the accelerated processing of a corresponding application in the other.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday 28 March during the tenth UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting in London. Collaborative working on the improvement of intellectual property protection in Brazil began in 2016 with the UK-Brazil memorandum of understanding.

Since then Brazil has also signed a similar deal with the State Intellectual Property Office in China ("SIPO"). SIPO have in turn opened the door to a similar deal with the UKIPO with the bilateral work plan announced last year.

It is possible that these bilateral agreements could eventually lead to a tripartite agreement between the UK, China and Brazil, which would be particularly beneficial to patentees seeking protection across the jurisdictions.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniel & Co. on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.