If you are what you eat, and bad diets lead to bad health, imagine what unsafe medicines can do.

We ask today, why the provenance of vaccines has attracted so much attention when the origin of medicines we take, in some cases, every day and without even thinking, is not questioned at all? How do we know we can trust medicines readily available on the market from seemingly legitimate sources? Where does intellectual property (IP) come into all of this and why is a proper IP application and registration process important?

The results of the in depth study on the Trade Secrets system in China were presented in front of an online and offline audience of government officials, academia and businesses from the European Union. Proposals to improve the legal system and practice were discussed by participants. Some of the recommendations included (not limited):

The European Union protects more than three thousand names of agricultural products and foodstuffs, fisheries and aquaculture, wines, spirit drinks and aromatised wine products, under one of its EU quality schemes: Geographical Indication (GI), Protected Designations of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG).

This activity supports the integration of SEA IP offices in the EUIPO global databases, which assure the accessibility of updated information on trade marks (TMview) and industrial designs (DesignView) for the benefit of IP stakeholders worldwide. The countries targeted for integration are Indonesia (TMview and DesignView), Malaysia (DesignView), Singapore (TMview and DesignView), Thailand (DesignView and TMclass), and Vietnam (TMview and DesignView).

To underline the importance of trade secrets as a form of intellectual property rights and the benefits businesses can gain from having their trade secrets protected, IP Key South-East Asia (SEA) organised the ‘Webinar on Trade Secrets’ on 26 March 2021. The webinar raised awareness on the protection of trade secrets in the EU and in the SEA region and the remedies business owners use should their trade secrets be misappropriated.

IP Key South-East Asia (SEA) Project organised a ‘Legal Training on UPOV 1991’ on 17 and 18 June 2021. Plant variety protection and intellectual property officials underwent a training on the legal provisions of the UPOV 1991 Convention. The training was delivered by experts from the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV).