Innovative Exchange Program with Japan Strengthens Cooperation in Intellectual Property
On December 4, 2014, “The 2014 Industrial Property Round table Discussion: the Experience of Japan,” organized by the Colombian PTO (SIC), was held in Bogota.
Speakers included Masayuki Koyanagui,the Head of the Patent Examination Office of the Japan PTO,and Yuta Hayami, Executive Director of the Japanese Cooperation Office, who announced a new exchange program for patent examiners that will begin in March 2015.
During the meeting, the speakers also explained the process of applying for a patent in Japan, and the benefits of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) between SIC and JPO.The PPH begun in September 2014 and will be valid for a period of five years, renewable automatically for successive periods. Applicants filing a patent before the SIC and JPO that have obtained the patent in Colombia, may request PPH (fast examination) with the JPO.
Japan and Colombia have been negotiating on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) since December 2012, and the relationship between the two countries in terms of economic activities, including IP work, is likely to advance.
