Who: MoC between Indian and Japan on industrial property
What: Approved by the Union Cabinet
When: 24 June 2015
The Union Cabinet on 24 June 2015 gave its approval for signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) between the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO), Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan.
The MoC is aimed at establishing a framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of industrial property (IP) with emphasis on capacity building, human resource development and awareness generation.
Under the MoC, both the countries will implement a biennial action plancomprising cooperation projects and activities. Some of them are

• Information sharing on IP Protection Systems and Practices
• Cooperation in the area of examination, including utilization of the examiner-exchange program
• Cooperation in the scheme of the Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Assistance in developing IP infrastructure
• Capacity building in the use of IT infrastructure
• Information provision and awareness building for the general public