The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan. The purpose of MoC is to establish a framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of Industrial Property (IP), with emphasis on capacity building, human resource development and awareness generation. The Offices will implement a biennial Action Plan comprising cooperation projects and activities principally, but not exclusively in the following areas:

• Information sharing on IP Protection Systems and Practices.
• Cooperation in the area of examination, including utilization of the examiner-exchange program.
• Cooperation in the scheme of the Patent Cooperation Treaty.
• Assistance in developing IP infrastructure.
• Capacity building in the use of IT infrastructure.
• Information provision and awareness building for the general public.

Bilateral IP cooperation to establish a framework for capacity building, examiner exchanges and PCT cooperation under MoC. Approval was granted for a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and the Japan Patent Office to create a framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of Industrial Property (IP). The Partners will implement a biennial action plan focused on information sharing, examination cooperation including an examiner-exchange programme, PCT cooperation, IP infrastructure assistance, IT capacity building and public awareness activities.