Source: KIPO
Date  : 2010. 10. 7.

- Chile designates KIPO as its ISA for PCT - 
- Korea and Brazil enter an extensive MOU regarding IPRs - 

 Korea and Latin American countries are planning to reinforce their cooperation in the field of intellectual property rights (IPRs), particularly in patent examinations, exchanges of human resources and the automation of patent information. 

 At the 48th General Assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organization, held in Geneva on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, Soowon LEE, Commissioner of Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), and Maximiliano Santa Cruz Scantlebury, National Director of the National Institute of Industrial Property (INAPI) of Chile, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the designation of KIPO as an International Searching Authority (ISA*) and an International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA**) of Chile under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). 

* PCT/ ISA conducts a prior art search and reviews the patentability of a PCT international application.
** PCT/IPEA conducts a preliminary examination to judge whether a PCT application meets the requirements for a patent when an international search is unable to clearly judge the patentability of the application.

By signing the MOU, Chile has become the twelfth country which designated KIPO as a PCT/ISA. 

* Countries which have delegated KIPO as their PCT/ISA: the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Mongolia, Singapore, New Zealand, the US, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Australia, Thailand and Chile

In the morning of the same day, Commissioner LEE and Jorge de Paula Costa Avila, President of the National Institute of Industrial Property of Brazil, signed an MOU regarding comprehensive cooperation in the IPR field. Both heads agreed to exchange IPR experts and human resources of their own offices, work together in promoting patent automation and cooperate to improve the IPR system. 

 As KIPO has now become a PCT/ISA and IPEA of Chile, applicants who file international patent applications to the INAPI can request KIPO to conduct international searches and preliminary examinations, starting from October 1,2010. The designation of KIPO as a PCT/ISA and IPEA of Chile clearly shows how the international society recognizes the examination capability of KIPO. The designation is also expected to reinforce the cooperation between Korea and Chile. 
 
 During the WIPO General Assemblies, Commissioner LEE participated in the IP5 Heads Meeting and had bilateral meetings with the heads of the patent offices of the US, Japan, China, Europe, England, Australia, Canada and Vietnam. At the meetings, Commissioner Lee discussed strengthening of the ties with the offices, as well as major issues in the global IPR field, including improvement of the efficiency of patent systems and shortening of the pendency period.