The European Patent Office and the National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) of Argentina are stepping up their cooperation. EPO President Antonio Campino and INPI President Damaso Pardo signed on 2 July 2019 a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish a Reinforced Partnership programme between both offices. This comprehensive cooperation agreement is the first of its kind to be set up by the EPO with an IP office in Latin America. The meeting of the Heads of Office took place on the margins of the IP Executive Week in Alicante.

According to Antonio Campinos, thanks to this agreement, the EPO can work more closely with one of the largest economies in Latin America and strengthen its relations with this dynamic region. Building on EPO long-standing ties with INPI, the agreement will help better meet the needs of companies in Argentina and users around the globe.

According to Damaso Pardo, this agreement aims to render the respective patent systems as efficient, user-friendly and reliable as possible for innovators; a robust patent system is an essential instrument for stimulating innovation, entrepreneurship and economic development.

Through their Reinforced Partnership programme, the EPO and INPI will work together to achieve shared objectives such as ensuring that the patent systems in both regions offer the best possible services to innovating businesses and inventors in an effective manner in order to benefit the economy and society as a whole.

The Offices will also focus on a number of activities aimed at strengthening capacities in search and examination in emerging technologies fields such as the Internet of Things  (IoT) and Industry 4.0, as well as capitalising on EPO work products, tools and standards.

The EPO and INPI have a long-standing history of cooperation. A previous MoU on technical cooperation was signed in Buenos Aires in May 2017, which will be replaced by the most recent MoU on Reinforced Partnership.

Source: www.epo.org

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