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50 Borneo Bulletin Yearbook 2019
system by supporting the ASEAN Intellectual
Property (IP) offices to deliver timely, quality
and accessible trademark and design services
to users.
It also aims to enhance the ASEAN Economic
Community by developing platforms and
creating infrastructures; extending the ASEAN
IP Networks and their engagement; creating a
regional mechanism to promote asset creation
and commercialisation, focussing particularly on
Geographical Indications (GI); and highlighting
the importance of IP for national economies and
businesses.
2016 and 2017 for BruIPO
During the opening ceremony of the 55th
Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on
Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC)
and Related Meetings at the International
Convention Centre in Berakas on March 27,
2018, it was highlighted in a speech that the
last few years, particularly 2016 and 2017,
have been very significant for Brunei in terms
of progress made to strengthen its Intellectual
Property system.
In 2016, Brunei acceded to the Madrid Protocol
for the International Registration of Marks,
which entered into force in January 2017.
The BruIPO also signed a Statement of Intent
with the Japan Patent Office in 2017 for a new
patent examination cooperation initiative.
Patent Prosecution Highway Plus
On August 28, 2017, the BruIPO signed an
agreement with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) to
kick-start a new patent examination cooperation
initiative called the Patent Prosecution Highway
Plus (PPH+).
The PPH+ is a patent examination cooperation
worksharing initiative by the JPO that aims
to accelerate the examination process for
corresponding patent applications from Japan
and those filed in participating intellectual
property offices.
Under the PPH+ arrangement, each participating
patent office will benefit from the work previously
done by the other patent office, with the goal of
reducing examination workload and improving
patent quality.
BruIPO signed a Memorandum of Cooperation
(MoC) with JPO on May 24, 2015 to enhance
cooperation in the field of industrial property,
namely trademarks, patents and industrial
designs. Within the ambit of the MoC, JPO has
supported BruIPO in developing its capacity
through the training and dispatch of experts,
as well as through the compilation of formality
examination guidelines for patents.
MoU with Danish Patent and
Trademark Office
On August 29, 2017, BruIPO signed a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a
referral arrangement to conduct substantive
searching and examination of patents with the
Danish Patent and Trademark Office (DKPTO).
The DKPTO has been acting as BruIPO’s
examiner since the implementation of the
indigenous patent system in Brunei in 2012,
and the MoU signified the continuation of
collaborative efforts between the two offices
in the area of patents for a further five years.