A cooperation plan between the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI) was signed on October 2 with a view to promoting the exchange and use of patent information for business development, especially among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This took place on the sidelines of the annual meetings of WIPO Assemblies from September 24 to October 3, 2007.

The agreement means Mexican national patent information dating from 1997 will now be fully searchable via WIPO’s PatentScope portal. PatentScope (http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/) is a gateway to information on all of WIPO’s patent related services and activities. Most notably, PatentScope offers easy access to the more than one million international patent applications, including bibliographic data and documents, published under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). The PCT is a cornerstone of the international patent system and greatly facilitates the process of obtaining patent protection in up to 137 countries. 

Patent information is an invaluable and yet largely untapped resource which has the potential to significantly boost economic and technological development. The availability of Mexican patent data via PatentScope offers users of the patent system access to broader data coverage in a fully searchable format. Companies in Mexico will now be able to benefit from easy access to detailed and highly relevant technical information which will help them to find technologies which they may use for free, and to identify opportunities for new product development.

Under the cooperation plan, WIPO will provide IMPI with access to complete weekly collections of published PCT international applications and to the latest bibliographic data and documents contained in the files of the PCT international applications via an FTP server. WIPO and IMPI will also work closely to develop patent information tools to demonstrate the value of patent information and to increase awareness in the use of patent information. WIPO and IMPI will further develop a Spanish language search interface and online documentation for the benefit of patent information users in Spanish-speaking countries.

Patent information is available to the public, and is increasingly accessible through patent databases. A core function of the patent system is the publication and dissemination of technical information through the publication of patent systems and patent grants.

In terms of promoting business development, patent information serves a number of purposes. A company may use this information to define its business strategy, or to stimulate, steer, or re-direct its research and development efforts or identify collaborators with skills that complement its own technological expertise. Patent information makes public the fact that exclusive rights over specific inventions are claimed or granted and informs about the content, scope and validity of granted or amended patents. This is essential information when a company is seeking to determine its freedom to operate in a given market. Patent information further stimulates technology transfer by enabling economic actors to identify and evaluate licensing opportunities.

(www.wipo.int)