JPO Strengthens Cooperation with Department of Intellectual Property of Thailand ~1. Commencement of data exchange including patent publications and 2. Extension of PPH pilot program~

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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) of Thailand agreed to start exchanging patent information/data, including patent publications, held by both offices from January 2016. The JPO and the DIP of Thailand also agreed to extend the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot program and continue the PPH pilot program in 2016 and beyond.

  1. Background

As the world economy globalizes, the number of patent applications has been increasing worldwide. Intellectual property activities by Japanese enterprises have also been globalized. For example, Japanese enterprises are now filing increasing number of patents to overseas patent offices. Especially in Thailand, which is an important production base for Japanese enterprises, the number of patent applications from Japan has been increasing in recent years. The number of applications was approximately 1,700 in 2009 and reached approximately 3,000 in 2013, accounting for 36% of all patent applications filed in Thailand. Regarding the number of patent applications in Thailand in terms of country of applicant, Japan exceeded Thailand and the United States. The largest number of applications filed to the DIP of Thailand was also from Japan as well. Under such circumstances, the JPO and the DIP of Thailand agreed to strengthen their cooperation, aiming to further facilitate intellectual activities of Japanese enterprises in Thailand.

  1. Agreement between the JPO and the DIP of Thailand
  • Exchange of Patent Information/Data

The JPO and the DIP of Thailand have decided to begin, for the first time, the exchange of data on patent information from January 2016, including patent publications. Accordingly, the JPO will receive publication data of patents, petty patents (utility models), designs, and trademarks from the DIP of Thailand. The JPO will provide such data to public users through the Foreign Patent Information Service (FOPISER) free of charge. FOPISER allows users to search Thailand documents using a document number and a user-friendly interface in Japanese. FOPISER also allows users to search Thailand documents in Japanese through machine translation of FOPISER. Thailand publication data not provides information on rights, but also provide information on translation of Thai language to Japanese. By providing private entities and public research institutes that develop translation systems with publication data in both Japanese and Thailand language, machine translation research and precision of machine translation can be promoted and improved. Through these efforts, it is expected that Japanese will be able to know intellectual property in Thailand easier. Japanese can then obtain rights in Thailand more effectively.

  • Extension of PPH pilot program

The JPO has conducted the PPH pilot program with the DIP of Thailand for two years since January 1, 2014. To support Japanese enterprises to obtain rights in Thailand more quickly in the future, the JPO and the DIP have decided to extend the PPH pilot program for two more years from January 1, 2016. Approximately 300 patent applications under the PPH pilot program have been filed to the DIP of Thailand so far. Applications through the PPH pilot program have been examined by the DIP of Thailand more quickly than normal applications. As a result of the extension of the PPH pilot program, Japanese applicants can continue to receive quicker examination by filing applications under the program to the DIP of Thailand.

 

Source of Information:

Japan Patent Office

http://www.meti.go.jp/press/2015/12/20151225001/20151225001.html

Keywords: Japan; Thailand; machine translation; PPH; FOPISER