The event was attended by Mr Antonio Campinos, EUIPO Executive Director, Ms Chutima Bunyapraphasara, Deputy Minister of Commerce of Thailand, Mr Pirkka Tapiola, EU Ambassador to Thailand, representatives of the European Union Member States and representatives from business.
During the two Fact Finding Missions through South East Asia, held between October and November 2017, contacts with a vast array of stakeholders gave rise to numerous ideas and areas of mutual cooperation. IP Key SEA team held more than 15 meetings with more than 40 stakeholders from 4 countries –representing both EU and local interests. The IP Key project clearly attained the main goals of the inception phase, namely to:
A second fact-finding mission has been carried out in the Philippines between 9-10 November 2017. The meetings held served as platform for highlighting status, developments and possible challenges regarding the launch of the project, and the identification of interest areas, expectations and priorities of Philippine Government and Industry representatives.
The fact-finding mission carried out between 18-26 October 2017 in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia allowed for liaising with key stakeholders, including EU Delegations in the countries visited, EU trade and business representatives, line Ministries and IP Offices and other relevant stakeholders.
Already during the course of the mission, a strong interest in IP Key SEA was perceived. This allowed the Project Management Team to rapidly map a set of activities to be implemented during the first project’s year, identifying forthcoming challenges and opportunities.