EPO concludes working agreement on search co-operation with the Portuguese Institute of Industrial Property (INPI)

On 10 December, 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 co-operation between the European Patent Organisation (EPOrg) and INPI. Once the agreement enters into force on 1 March 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 co-operation.

Improving accessibility to the patent system

The working agreement is accompanied by an administrative agreement which provides support for micro-entities, universities and research centres. The search co-operation programme 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 centres and universities, to quickly obtain a search report with a high-quality written opinion, which will certainly help them define their internationalisation strategy."

Search co-operation programme

The European Patent Office's Strategic Plan 2028 aims at fostering collaboration with partners to increase quality and enhance accessibility of the patent system for all. Through the search co-operation programme 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 protection of their invention at international and European level.