Brunei taps IPOPHL’s services

Brunei Darussalam has tapped the expertise of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines to extend its search and examination services to its patent applications.

In a statement, IPOPHL said the agency was tapped by Brunei Darussalam IP Office in an outsourcing arrangement that would arm its Bureau of Patents to accept re-examination, provide opinions in response to an opposition over an amendment to a patent and extend capacity-building activities to help BruIPO adopt international best practices in patent search and examination.

Further, IPOPHL will also process a maximum of 200 applications a year from BruIPO over the next five years.

The arrangement came at the heels of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba and the Attorney General of Brunei Darussalam, Dato Seri Paduka Awang Haji Ahmad Bin Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Bakti Di-Raja Dato Laila Utama Haji Awang Isa, in his capacity as Registrar of BruIPO, in December 2023.

“This is the first time another IP office has outsourced IPOPHL for a core service. This shows increased confidence in the efficiency of our processes and our tested and proven expertise in emerging technologies after over 76 years of conducting patent search and examination,” Barba said, noting the first patent office in the Philippines was established in 1947 through Republic Act 165.

He said that ASEAN-wide, the Philippines offers one of the fastest turnaround time from application to grant or refusal and is the first to establish a Patent Quality Review System that gained IPOPHL’s patent search and examination services a high rating of compliance with international standards.

“We are delighted that our first-ever client is no less than a friend in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which, like the Philippines, is aiming to sustain its momentum to recover from the pandemic. We hope this partnership will create more wins for innovation in the ASEAN and serve as a global model for collaborations with meaningful outcomes,” Barba added.

Like many in ASEAN, Brunei Darussalam has been witnessing an increasingly vibrant innovation scene.