EAPO and WIPO Discussed Key Cooperation Issues
On May 27, 2020, the representatives of the Eurasian Patent Office (EAPO) and the Department for Transition and Developed Countries of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation.
On behalf of EAPO, the meeting held via videoconference was attended by the President of the EAPO Mrs. Saule Tlevlessova and heads of the corresponding departments. The WIPO delegation was led by the Director of the Department for Transition and Developed Countries Mr. Michal Svantner.
Mrs. Tlevlessova spoke about the state of affairs in the field of creation of the Eurasian system of legal protection of industrial designs and the first ratifications of the Protocol on the Protection of Industrial Designs (the Protocol) by the member states of the Eurasian Patent Convention (EAPC).
The parties discussed the possibility of transferring the instruments of ratification to the Protocol depository – the Director General of WIPO – under the existing quarantine restrictions. They also addressed the issues related to the start of EAPO practical activities in the field of industrial designs, and noted the need for organizing training visits for EAPO employees on working with industrial designs, including the use of WIPO software products and electronic services.
Special attention was paid to the designation of EAPO as the International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The EAPO President described the progress in considering the application for the appointment of EAPO as ISA and IPEA in the framework of the thirty-first session of the PCT Committee on Technical Cooperation, which was held remotely, and outlined the tasks facing the agency in managing its activities in this area. The parties agreed on further cooperation and discussed the upcoming visits of the EAPO representatives to WIPO to receive technical and advisory support in this issue.
Based on the materials of the Eurasian Patent Office.
