In September 2020, the Industry Trilateral (IT3) submitted a paper entitled “Policy and Elements for a Possible Substantive Patent Harmonization Package” to the secretariat of the B+ group of WIPO nations (which was established to promote and facilitate progress on substantive patent law harmonisation (SPLH)). This paper marks the culmination of over six years of work by the IT3 to achieve agreement on the scope of four key elements of SPLH and paves the road for next steps and initiatives to be taken by governmental representatives sharing the same desire for progress and adaptation of the patent system.

The Industry Trilateral (IT3) was formed in 2003 as a basis for industry stake holders in the jurisdiction of the Trilateral Patent Offices (EPO, JPO, and USPTO) to jointly engage the Offices in a discussion of substantive and procedural issues involving intellectual property (IP). The IT3 includes the American Intellectual Property Law Association,  the Intellectual Property Owners Association (a US organisation), BusinessEurope, and the Japan Intellectual Property Association. IP Federation/TMPDF representatives have been part of the BusinessEurope delegation since the formation of the IT3.