March 11, 2019

New ISA and IPEA for the UAE applications

The patent office of the United Arab Emirates has designated an additional intellectual property office to their scope of competent International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authorities.

The Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) has been named as an addition to the search and examination authorities for international applications. Korean patent office is already engaged in examination of the UAE national applications, following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding in 2014. This additional office will act alongside the Australian patent office and the Austrian patent office, which are currently utilised as ISA and IPEA for the UAE.

The new addition will be available to applications made by residents and nationals of the UAE after January 6, 2019, provided that the International Bureau is the Receiving Office. Opting to perform the international search and preliminary examination through the Korean patent office could benefit applicants through reduced fees and a potentially expedited time frame.

The KIPO allows for the lowest international search fee with $1169, whilst the fee of the Australian Patent Office is $1589, and the Austrian Patent Office rate amounts to $2053. The fees for preliminary examination follow the same trend, with the Korean Intellectual Property Office fee being of approximately $400, Australian Patent Office fee of around $580 and the Austrian Patent Office fee of approximately $2000.

In addition to providing the lowest fees for both international search and preliminary examination, the KIPO has continued its cooperation with the UAE that started with the launch of the Industrial Property Automation System on February 28, 2018. The system provided by the KIPO allows for the entire industrial property prosecution of the UAE to be handled online, including filing, examination, registration, and fees.

With an ever-evolving legal sphere, cooperation between intellectual property offices has become increasingly more poignant over recent years. The hope is that further collaborations between IP offices will be introduced, encouraging growth in the number of applications for intellectual property protection worldwide.  

 

Author: Danielle Carvey
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