ASEAN and WIPO Review Cooperation Activities
Geneva, May 6, 2003
Press Updates UPD/2003/190
The positive shift in the way countries in the ASEAN region are using intellectual property as a strategic policy instrument to promote economic growth was the focus of discussions at a meeting of senior diplomats from countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and officials of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on May 2, 2003, at WIPO's Geneva headquarters. The 8th Consultation Meeting of the WIPO-ASEAN Cooperation Program in the Field of Intellectual Property was attended by heads of permanent missions of ASEAN countries represented in Geneva and co-chaired by the Director General of WIPO, Dr. Kamil Idris and the Ambassador of Cambodia, H.E. Ambassador Suos Someth. The Deputy Secretary General of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, Mr. Tran Duc Minh, also participated in the meeting.
Discussions highlighted the strong and diversified level of WIPO-ASEAN cooperation and the resulting growing emphasis by policy makers in the region on the strategic importance of intellectual property as key tool to promote development and wealth creation. ASEAN member countries include Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
The Director General commended the individual and collective commitment and engagement of the ASEAN member countries in promoting intellectual property as a tool for economic growth in the region. He said that the WIPO-ASEAN consultation mechanism was a "model of pro-active cooperation between WIPO and a prominent regional association, which has shown dynamism in the area of intellectual property". Dr. Idris said that while this consultation mechanism would continue to engage in policy discussions on intellectual property and related issues, emphasis would also be placed on initiating concrete collaborative activities at country and regional levels to promote intellectual property protection and its effective utilization.
The Ambassador of Cambodia, H.E. Suos Someth, speaking on behalf of ASEAN, expressed appreciation for WIPO's various initiatives, which he said were an important catalyst in promoting better use of the intellectual property system and respect for intellectual property rights in the region.
Delegates also discussed two studies prepared by WIPO; the first on the use of intellectual property as a tool for economic growth of the ASEAN region and the second on the feasibility of establishing an ASEAN regional collective copyright management system. Given the usefulness of these studies, it was decided to submit them to the relevant ASEAN experts groups who will explore future work and approaches in line with domestic, regional and international priorities.
The meeting noted a number of significant advances in a wide range of cooperation activities, including: development and modernization of intellectual property and intellectual property-related institutions, dynamic use of intellectual property, regional cooperation in the fields of trademarks, patents and copyright and related rights, human resources development, and new intellectual property issues, such as, traditional knowledge, genetic resources and folklore, electronic commerce and WIPONET (a project which is designed to facilitate the free-flow of intellectual property information through the establishment of a global intellectual property information network linking all intellectual property offices of WIPO member states - see PR/2001/252). These were also noted as areas for continuing assistance by WIPO to the ASEAN member States.
This annual meeting is a forum for consultation between WIPO and ASEAN to identify areas of cooperation between the two organizations. It has been a significant driving force in shaping the nature and scope of this cooperation. In recent years the consultation meeting has evolved into a forum for in-depth policy dialogue between WIPO and ASEAN, particularly on matters of priority to the ten ASEAN countries.
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