South-East Asia

The IP Key Southeast Asia (SEA) Project has been providing technical expertise in  support to the drafting of the Trademark Examination Guidelines of the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP Viet Nam).  Trademark experts were dispatched by the IP Key SEA Project to IP Viet Nam in February in preparation for the drafting of the Trademark Guidelines, which will be submitted to the office within the month of June.

IP Key South-East Asia has supported the participation of high-level intellectual property (IP) officials in charge of Geographical Indications (GIs) in the 2019 edition of the Worldwide Symposium on Geographical Indications and in the GI Study Visit held on 02-04 and 05-06 July, respectively.

Enhancing the quality of patent examination results, shortening turnaround times, and decreasing backlogs are common concerns of IPR stakeholders across SEA countries. As the capacities of patent examiners directly affect their productivity and performance, IP Key seeks to support its SEA partner countries through facilitating the development of a collective Training Programme for Patent Examiners of the SEA IP Offices.

IP Key SEA has supported officials from the national IP offices of South-East Asia to attend the EUIPO IP Mediation Conference in Alicante, Spain, which took place on 30-31 May 2019. The conference allowed the participants to learn more on the cutting-edge practices in the field of IP mediation. Additionally, the SEA officials had the opportunity to participate in a session on mediation communication and negotiation techniques, which took place on 29 May, thus preceding the IP Mediation conference.

IP Key SEA and ARISE+ IPR Project Leader Tiago Guerreiro outlined the key IP enforcement tools and databases currently in use in the EU during a Southeast Asia IPR SME Helpdesk webinar on enforcement held on 17 April. The webinar and presentation materials are available for download here.

IP Key SEA teamed up with Spanish football league, LaLiga, to highlight the importance of IP in sports, particularly for football, at World Intellectual Property Day in Bangkok, Thailand on 26 April. The IP Key SEA / LaLiga ‘Support Your Team – Choose Official Products’ exhibition booth at the event featured a display of all 20 LaLiga team jerseys and their IP components, competitions and giveaways, as well as experts on hand demonstrating how genuine sports broadcasts and merchandise help develop and maintain quality sports leagues.

The IP Key SEA team joins Spanish football league, LaLiga, to mark World IP Day in Bangkok, Thailand, highlighting the important role that intellectual property plays in supporting sports leagues, clubs, players and facilities.  Trademarks and copyright, in particular, help protect the revenue from official merchandise and sports broadcasts, both of which are crucial to maintaining the quality of competition from LaLiga and other professional sports leagues.

IP Key SEA and EUIPO experts shared insights at the ‘Workshop on Trade in Counterfeit Food, Beverages, Cosmetics, and Fast Moving Consumer Goods’ in Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam, on 2-5 April. The workshop highlighted the prevalence of global trafficking in infringing fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) and its economic impact, as well as measures and technologies to address the problem.