Driving Patent Excellence: ASEAN IP Officials Gathering at WIPO Singapore Office for PCT Regional Seminar

Aiming to reignite collaboration and enhance WIPO’s technical assistance and capacity building regarding the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) in the ASEAN region, representatives from eight ASEAN IP Offices gathered at the WIPO Singapore Office (WSO) for the first post-pandemic PCT seminar for ASEAN Member States during November 27 – 29, 2024. Attended also by representatives from the IP Australia, the IP India, and the Korean IP Office (KIPO), the Regional Seminar provided a forum for sharing of experiences and best practices in substantive patent examination.

The in-person WIPO Regional Seminar on PCT was opened by Ms. Thitapha Wattanapruttipaisan, Director of WSO, and Ms. Christine Bonvallet, Director of WIPO’s PCT International Cooperation Division (ICD). They underlined the importance of continuing to explore ways to make the PCT system more accessible, efficient, and effective for ASEAN stakeholders, particularly creators, innovators and businesses looking to protect their IP on a global scale, especially in view of the region’s digital transformation into a growing hub of innovation and technological advancement. It was highlighted that in 2023 alone, 55.6% of all PCT applications originated from the Asian region with Singapore leading with over 1,700 PCT filings, followed by Indonesia and Thailand with 144 PCT filings each, and Malaysia with 127 PCT filings. They also encouraged all participants to take full advantage of each other’s knowledge and experience to better utilize the PCT system and find innovative solutions to the challenges faced by respective IP Offices.

During the Regional Seminar, WIPO officials led several roundtable discussions, highlighting the advantages of the PCT for streamlining international patent applications -- including recent developments in the PCT system, reduced administrative burdens, and measures to ensure that creators and innovators can easily protect their IP across multiple jurisdictions. These discussions were complemented by valuable feedback from representatives of the ASEAN IP Offices, who provided insights into the specific legal and technical challenges their offices have faced in utilizing the PCT system effectively. Officials from IP Australia, IPOS, IP India, IP Office of the Philippines, and KIPO also served as models of an established ISA/IPEA and shared their experience on building national patent examination capacities. Success stories from a PCT user’s perspective were also shared by Mr. Chia Mun Loong of the National University of Singapore and Ms. May Chng of Flexxon Global Limited. Seminar participants also gained useful insights from the WIPO Arbitration and Mediation Center on how WIPO Mediation can be used in the resolution of IP disputes and on the cases already settled under the ASEAN Mediation Program (AMP).

In addition, the ASEAN IP Register, which is revolutionizing IP management across Southeast Asia, was also introduced to participants of the Regional Seminar. This centralized platform provides a comprehensive collection of IP data (patents, designs and trademarks) exclusively from ASEAN IP Offices, with a focus tailored to regional perspectives and needs. To learn more about this transformative initiative and how it can benefit your business, please visit the WIPO Singapore Office website today and take the first step towards securing, leveraging and commercializing your IP rights.