Bureau of Patents continues upskilling in preparation to operate as ISA/IPEA
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) Bureau of Patents underwent 3 days of extensive, in-depth training on the use of an online portal, as it prepares to operate as an International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) this year.
This is the third in a series of workshops and capacity-building activities in the office’s preparation to commence operating as an ISA/IPEA, with the previous trainings held in September and October.
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)’s Technical Cooperation Section Head of the PCT International Cooperation Dvision, Mr. Allal Aloui, administered the 3-day workshop (April 10-12,2019)
Fifty participants from the BOP, from patent examiners to the management committee, gained additional skills in using the ePCT System as an ISA and IPEA; the BOP is currently using the system in the IPOPHL’s capacity as a receiving office.
The ePCT System is an online portal created and managed by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and distributed for use to Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) contracting countries like the Philippines. The portal provides PCT-related functions for both IP offices and individual applicants.
The BOP’s functions as a receiving office includes recording international applications filed in paper, search of existing international applications, manage tasks and assignment of IAS to examiners, and uploading post-filing of documents.
With the forthcoming operation as an ISA, the BOP is being taught ISA functions, primarily the International Search Report and/or Written Opinion, and generating the forms to accompany the office actions. An overview of IPEA functions were also discussed.
The ePCT system workflow was taught to BOP participants, as well as the creation of individual ePCT Office Users accounts.