IPEA

IPEA may stand for:Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada, a Brazilian research organization.International Preliminary Examination Authority, an examination authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).IPEA AS, a Norwegian mobile phone operator.
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International Preliminary Examining Authority - either a national Office or an intergovernmental organization whose tasks include the establishment of examination reports on inventions which are the subject of international applications.

Context: Patent 

An Authority (either a national Office or an intergovernmental organization) appointed by the PCT Assembly to carry out the international preliminary examination procedure. Its task is to establish the international preliminary report on patentability (Chapter II of the PCT).
  

International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA):
office with competence to carry out the international preliminary examination for a PCT application. It may be either a national office (AT, AU, CA, CN, ES, FI, JP, KR, RU, SE, US) or an intergovernmental organisation (EPO) (Article 32 PCT, Article 155 EPC).