South-East Asia

Plant variety protection and accession to the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991) are important elements of trade agreements negotiated by the EU. Over the first years of implementation of the IP Key SEA project, several activities were organized on plant variety protection in collaboration with the Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) and with the cooperation of the UPOV Office, in order to promote a better understanding of the benefits of strong plant variety protection and of UPOV 1991 accession.

On 18 November 2020, GI Experts from the EU engaged in discussions with senior officials from South-East Asian IP Offices in the ‘High Level Virtual Conference on Geographical Indications (GIs)’.

The activity was organised by IP Key South-East Asia (SEA)  to promote the benefits of a sui generis GI system to local communities and rural development, as well as the need for effective control and enforcement mechanisms in ensuring the quality of GIs on the market for the benefit of the consuming public.

To discuss the latest methods to combat counterfeiting in physical and online marketplaces, and in support of the cooperation between EU businesses and enforcement authorities in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, IP Key South-East Asia (SEA) organised a series of online seminars on EU Product Specification, targeting South-East Asian IPR enforcement authorities on 4-5 (Thailand), 12-13 (Indonesia), 16-17 (the Philippines) and 27 (Malaysia) November 2020.

IP Key South-East Asia (SEA) organised Technical Meetings on Enhanced Customs Enforcement Systems with the IP authorities, customs authorities, and EU businesses in Malaysia and Thailand, which took place online on 6 (Thailand) and 11 (Malaysia) November 2020. The participants were looking through the lens of customs authorities in Malaysia and Thailand to identify challenges and concerns regarding customs enforcement in both countries.

On 28 and 29 October 2020, senior judges from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam handling IP cases were invited to the South-East Asia Judges’ Colloquium on Intellectual Property Rights organised by IP Key SEA.

As a follow-up to the Webinar Series on Geographical Indications (GIs) in July 2020, the IP Key SEA organised a third webinar on 25 November focusing on issues on the enforcement of GIs in SEA in the physical and online markets, including the need to for adequate enforcement mechanisms that support both GI owners and consumers. The IP Key SEA had partnered with the IP Offices of Singapore and Viet Nam as well as DG AGRI in delivering the webinar, with presentations on the sui generis system of GI protection in Singapore and the benefits under the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

IP Key SEA, in collaboration with the European Patent Office (EPO), organized a series of online workshops on patent search and examination under the project’s 3rd Annual Work Plan. The events ran from June to October 2020 and targeted senior patent examiners from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

In 2020, IP Key South-East Asia (SEA) hosted on 6 and 7 October the South-East Asia IP Judges’ Virtual Roundtable. The online event included sessions on vital issues concerning IPR judicial enforcement. Senior IP judges and officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand attended the event.