ASEAN - WIPO Consultation a Great Success

September 7, 2018

More than 25 participants from the 10 ASEAN Member States, as well as three staff from the ASEAN Secretariat, participated in the visit to the WIPO Regional Office in Singapore (WSO) as part of the week long meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC).  The visit was the last agenda item of the 56th meeting of the AWGIPC and featured the ASEAN - WIPO Consultation.

The meeting was opened on behalf of the AWGIPC by Ms. Dede Mia Yusanti, Director of Patent, Layout Design of Integrated Circuits and Trade Secret, Directorate General of Intellectual Property, Indonesia.  In her remarks, Ms. Yusanti advised of the AWGIPC’s great appreciation for the support and assistance provided by WIPO as a whole and specifically the valued work of the WSO in ASEAN.  She went on to express the AWGIPC’s great pleasure to visit the WSO as part of their agenda.

Mr. Denis Croze, Director of the WSO then responded by speaking of WIPO’s efforts in ASEAN and the importance WIPO places on the region in terms of its great potential and economic growth.  He advised  that WIPO continues to be committed to assisting the AWGIPC to deliver outcomes within the framework of the ASEAN IPR Action Plan 2016 – 2025.  He also provided a presentation on the work of the WSO and its strategic context within ASEAN and the IPR Action Plan.

After an open forum in which member states shared their views on the areas they require assistance with, WIPO shared the results of a study entitled Understanding the Use of Industrial Designs in Southeast Asian Countries – the case of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.