Bahrain’s Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MOIC) and the European Patent Office (EPO) have partnered to improve patent processing efficiency, reflecting a broader shift toward harmonizing international IP standards and reducing administrative burdens for applicants.

The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), effective from 12 January 2025 to the end of 2027, aims to enhance patent examination quality and consistency through the cooperation in training, information exchange, and operational alignment.

A key part of the agreement is the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) pilot, launched on 1 March 2025 for a two-year period. It enables applicants filing with MOIC or EPO to request expedited examination if a corresponding application has a positive patentability ruling from the partner office, streamlining search and examination to avoid duplication of work and reduce processing time.

Through this agreement, Bahrain joined a global network of jurisdictions collaborating with the EPO, including Europe, the US, Japan, South Korea, China, and the national IPOs in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia.