News - July 2026
- Brazil joins the Budapest Treaty
- IP Australia joins PPH eXtra Initiative
- Republic of Moldova joins European Patent Organisation as 40th member state
- Parliament passes the Patents Amendment Bill: New Zealand
- Ireland Patent Collection Now Available in PATENTSCOPE
- Dominican Republic Expands Global Access to Industrial Design Data Through Design View
1 Brazil joins the Budapest Treaty
The Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil deposited, on October 20, 2025, its instrument of accession to the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure , done at Budapest on April 28, 1977, and amended on September 26, 1980 (the Budapest Treaty).
The premise of the mechanism is the recognition of a single deposit of a microorganism with an international depositary authority throughout the countries that are parties to the system. In practice, the international deposit system established by the Budapest Treaty has been used for the deposit of not only microorganisms, but also for other biological materials…
Source URL:- https://intellectual-property-helpdesk.ec.europa.eu/news-events/news/brazil-joins-budapest-treaty-2025-10-28_en
2 IP Australia joins PPH eXtra Initiative
As a participant office of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), IP Australia is now joining the PPH eXtra Initiative to give patent applicants and their representatives clearer information about examination timeframes for PPH requests.
What is the PPH?
The PPH is a global fast-track that allows patent applicants to request accelerated assessment in Australia by considering examination work from another participating intellectual property (IP) office that has already found…
Source URL:- https://www.ipaustralia.gov.au/news-and-community/news/pph-extra-initiative
3 Republic of Moldova joins European Patent Organisation as 40th member state
The Republic of Moldova today became the 40th member state of the European Patent Organisation. This follows the deposit of its instrument of accession to the European Patent Convention (EPC) on 25 March 2026.
As of 1 June, European patent applications will automatically include the designation of the Republic of Moldova. This further extends the potential economic value of European patents as intangible assets.
Josef Kratochvíl, Chairperson of the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation, said: “The accession of the Republic.…
Source URL:- https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/news/republic-moldova-joins-european-patent-organisation-40th-member-state
4 Parliament passes the Patents Amendment Bill: New Zealand
The Bill amended the Patents Act 2013 (2013 Act) to apply stricter criteria for examining and granting of divisional applications filed out of outstanding applications made under the Patents Act 1953 (1953 Act).
The amendments enacted provide that 1953 Act divisionals that are filed after commencement will only be accepted for grant if the Commissioner of Patents is satisfied on the balance of probabilities that the invention claimed in the application meets the novelty, inventive step and support requirements of the 2013 Act. These criteria will also apply to any opposition, revocation…
Source URL:- https://www.iponz.govt.nz/news/parliament-passes-the-patents-amendment-bill/
5 Ireland Patent Collection Now Available in PATENTSCOPE
Approximately 53,000 patent records from the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland have been added to the database, expanding global coverage for patent searchers.
Key features:
· Nearly 53,000 Irish patent applications searchable
· 215 full-text documents
· Direct links to the Irish Patent Office registry for legal status and official publications (accessible via the beacon icon in the National Biblio. Data tab under Office)… Read more
Source URL:- https://www.wipo.int/en/web/patentscope/w/news/2026/ireland-patent-collection-now-available-in-patentscope
6 Dominican Republic Expands Global Access to Industrial Design Data Through Design View
The Dominican Republic has joined the DesignView platform, with its National Office for Industrial Property (ONAPI) making national industrial design records accessible through the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s (EUIPO) online search tool. The integration, effective from 8 June 2026, adds more than 650 registered industrial designs to the database.
With this latest addition, DesignView now offers access to information on over 24.6 million industrial designs from 77 intellectual property offices around the world, further enhancing its role as a global source of design information…