ASEAN-USPTO Patent Examination Training in Pharmaceuticals; Biotechnology; Computer Inventions and Artificial Intelligence (Part II)

August 22, 2022

ASEAN-USPTO Patent Examination Training in Pharmaceuticals; Biotechnology; Computer Inventions and Artificial Intelligence (Part II) was held from 22-24 August 2022, in Bangkok, Thailand. A total of 38 participants from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states attended the program and it was delivered by 5 speakers from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Our office, the Office of Assistant Vice-Chancellor Innovation and Enterprise (OAVCIE), UBD, was invited to participate in the program along with the Brunei Intellectual Property Office (BruIPO). A total of 3 delegates from Brunei Darussalam participated in the program; 1 officer from BruIPO and 2 officers from OAVCIE office.

The program is one of the capacity-building programs undertaken by the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). It is organized jointly by the ASEAN Intellectual Property Academy and the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

The program is focusing on the techniques, databases, search engines, and other knowledge needed to successfully search the prior art related to these new technologies, and any special considerations of the examination process, such as the patentability of computer algorithms, biological organisms, and their disclosure requirements, such as for AI deep learning machines, chemical compounds, and biological compounds (Budapest Treaty). The Program also includes discussions on work sharing, using the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system, Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), and patent validation arrangements.

The program started with a brief introduction on the USPTO, its history, organizational structure and followed by the introduction of patent examination process, brief patent legal framework in the US, patentability determination, case studies as well as work-sharing discussions. This training assisted the office to manage UBD’s patent filing application which involves doing a prior report of patent applications such as prior art searches and patentability.

By Nuraina Afiqah Mohamad Zain

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