If you are an Australian taxpayer reading this article, you can give yourself a pat on the back and feel a warm glow of satisfaction – your tax dollars are helping to enhance the skills of patent examiners in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Kenya and the African Regional Intellectual Property Office (ARIPO)!On Monday, 8 April 2013, IP Australia announced the launch of its Regional Patent Examination Training program (RPET). The program is conducted largely online, via an e-learning platform developed by IP Australia, and involves one-on-one training and support for overseas examiners, provided by experienced Australian examiners.
The IP Australia announcement indicates that RPET is a ‘significant activity’ of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Economic Cooperation Work Program (AANZFTA ECWP). Australian Government funding for this program is provided via AusAID.
‘Upon completion of the program,’ says IP Australia, the participating overseas examiners ‘will be able to consistently examine to the standards expected of their Australian counterparts.’
