MUNICH – The European Patent Office (EPO) President António Campinos and Ana Bandeira, President of the Directive Council of the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property signed working agreement on search cooperation, a press release stated by EPO.

On December 10, 2024, European Patent Office (EPO) President António Campinos and Ana Bandeira, President of the Directive Council of the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI), concluded a working agreement on search cooperation between the European Patent Organization (EPOrg) and INPI. Once the agreement enters into force on March 1, 2025, INPI can request the EPO to carry out searches on its national applications with a written opinion on the patentability of the invention. Portugal is the 18th contracting state with which the EPOrg has signed a working agreement on search cooperation.

Improving accessibility to the patent system

The working agreement is accompanied by an administrative agreement that provides support for micro-entities, universities and research centers. The search co-operation program with INPI will support the country’s SMEs, universities and individual inventors through an 80% reduction of the fee paid for the search, up to 400 requests.

At the signing of the agreement President Campinos said, “The entry into force of this working agreement marks a key advancement in co-operative efforts between the EPO and INPI. This collaborative scheme brings about numerous positive outcomes, notably in facilitating access to the patent system for small entities and enhancing opportunities for Portuguese companies and inventors, who will now be able to rely on EPO’s unique Search Report with Written Opinion. This report is not only important for an early assessment of the novelty and inventiveness of a patent application, but it’s also widely used by venture capitalists and business angels at the time to decide in which new technologies to invest.”

Ms. Bandeira added, "The signing of this protocol is particularly important for Portugal's innovation ecosystem as it will enable applicants, such as small and medium-sized companies, research centers and universities, to quickly obtain a search report with a high-quality written opinion, which will certainly help them define their internationalization strategy."

Search co-operation program

The European Patent Office's Strategic Plan 2028 aims to foster collaboration with partners to increase quality and enhance accessibility of the patent system for all. Through the search co-operation program, the Office supports member states in providing their applicants with the most accurate and complete searches. This helps them to better assess the prospects for the protection of their invention at the international and European level.