The IPEG has been especially active in providing IP capacity building programs over the past two to three years:

The APEC project on "Enhancing of APEC Capacity Building for Intellectual Property Protection and Utilization: Training for Trainers" was held in Sanya, China on 30 Nov - 2 Dec 2010. A total of 22 trainers from different APEC member economies attended the session. Participants exchanged knowledge of the different approaches and best practices of intellectual property training in APEC economies. As part of the project, a comparative analysis of the existing capacity building and IP training programs had also been developed.  A follow-up workshop from Russia on “Training for Trainers on Intellectual Property Issues: Management and Commercialization” is currently being organised. 

The "One Village, One Brand" seminar took place on 23-25 June, 2010 in Seoul, Korea. This seminar was intended to help train local farmers and producers to use intellectual property rights (IPR) systems to create successful branding strategies. Most farmers in developed economies already take advantage of IPR to maximise their products' value, but farmers in developing economies often do not have the capacity to brand their products. This capacity building seminar demonstrated how local farmers can create effective brand strategies and to protect their brands in an effort to position their product in the international market, increase their export income, and enhance their standard of living. A follow-up project on “One Village, One Brand” is currently being implemented.

The IPEG completed an APEC-funded project in cooperation with the Korean Intellectual Property Office and the Korea Invention Promotion Association to further develop and disseminate the "e-learning" program called IP Xpedite, which is aimed at increasing awareness and utilisation of IP information. An online course based on IP Xpedite was held to foster basic IP awareness in APEC economies and  a follow-up off-line course was held in Daejon, Korea in 2009. An advanced version of the IP Xpedite program is currently being implemented. An online course was provided in July 2011, attended by 406 participants from 14 economies and a follow-up off-line course was held in Daejon, Korea in October 2011, attended by 24 participants from 14 economies. E-learning content is being developed based on these trainings. 

Led by Chile, the IPEG has recently completed the publication, "APEC - IPEG Survey on Copyright Limitations & Exceptions Report on Copyright L&E in APEC Economies."  A follow-up seminar will be held on 2-3 April in Santiago, Chile.  

A seminar entitled Trading Ideas 2009: the Future of IP in the Asia Pacific was held in conjunction with the 29th IPEG meeting in Singapore on July 30-31, 2009. The event was aimed at building the capacity of small and medium enterprises to commercialise their IP.

A workshop on Effective Practices in the Border Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights was held on 20-23 July 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The workshop demonstrated how economies can develop a successful border enforcement regime. Topics of discussion included TRIPS border measure obligations, public policy concerns, case studies, risk assessment and ex-officio actions, and the APEC Model Guidelines.

A Colloquium For Public Prosecutors And The Judiciary On Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement was held on June 9-11, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In order to confront the global challenge of copyright piracy and counterfeiting, this colloquium provided an opportunity for public prosecutors and members of the judiciary to share their experiences in handling the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights. Participants focused on civil and criminal law enforcement systems and their utilisation for the protection and enforcement of IPR. Discussions covered: critical IPR enforcement and adjudication issues such as public health and safety concerns; the evolving standards of IP enforcement; best practices and strategies to be utilised in the prosecution of organised crime and Internet-based copyright piracy and counterfeiting operations; deterrent sentencing; and alternative dispute resolution and judicial mediation of IPR disputes.

A three day workshop entitled Conducting Effective IPR Public Education and Awareness Campaigns for Small and Medium Enterprises was held in Melbourne, Australia on April 1-3, 2009. The objective was to equip APEC Member Economies with the skills and resources required to implement public education and awareness campaigns for SMEs which promote the identification, protection, commercialisation and enforcement of IPR in the region.

Intellectual Property Explorer was developed in connection with this project. Intellectual Property Explorer is a free, secure and simple online business tool to help Small and Medium Enterprises identify and protect their IP assets. It contains a series of interactive diagnostic questions designed to review each piece of intellectual property in their business.

In 2008, a seminar on Raising Awareness and Providing Policy Insights on Promoting Appropriate Access and Protection of Genetic Resources and Traditional Knowledge in APEC Economies was held in Peru. The purpose of the seminar was to collect information and share experiences on the institutional and legal frameworks that support access to genetic resources and protection of traditional knowledge in the region, with a view to providing policy insights and promoting further debate and action in the APEC region. An APEC-funded study, Survey on Access to Genetic Resources and Protection of Traditional Knowledge in APEC Economies was also undertaken.  A follow up seminar from Peru on “Successful Experiences Implementing Tools for Traditional Knowledge Protection” was held in Lima, Peru, on 1-2 September 2011. The seminar provided an opportunity for APEC participants to share their experiences in the use of tools for traditional knowledge protection, building on previous work carried out by APEC in this area. Participants were also able to evaluate possible areas of future cooperation between economies in this area, taking into account their similarities and differences.

APEC Effective Practices for Addressing Unauthorized Camcording   

In 2011, APEC Ministers endorsed the APEC Effective Practices for Addressing Unauthorized Camcording. The effective practices assist affected economies to implement public awareness efforts; engage in cooperation with the private sector on capacity building; and adopt effective legal frameworks, when necessary, to address the challenges of unauthorized camcording in cinemas.
 
APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative

In 2005, APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade endorsed the APEC Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Initiative the goals of which are to:  

• Reduce counterfeit and pirated goods trade and combat transnational networks that produce and distribute these items. Actions for economies include establishing guidelines for authorities to inspect, suspend, seize and destroy goods and equipment used in counterfeit and pirated goods trade.
• Promote the enacting of appropriate legal regimes and enforcement systems to curtail online piracy and to undermine the online trade in counterfeit goods. This includes the development of guidelines to prevent Internet sales of counterfeit goods.
• Increase operational contact and the sharing of information between customs and law enforcement agencies to combat counterfeiting and piracy networks.
• Increase Member Economies' ability to develop and manage effective anti-counterfeiting and piracy enforcement systems through education and training throughout the region.

To advance its mandate, the IPEG has established a series of IPR Model Guidelines. These include model guidelines to:

• reduce trade in counterfeit and pirated goods
• protect against unauthorised copies
• prevent the sale of counterfeit and pirated goods over the internet
• provide effective public awareness campaigns on IPR
• secure supply chains against counterfeit and pirated goods
• strengthen IPR capacity building

The IPEG continues to encourage APEC economies to put the model guidelines into practice, and monitors the status of implementation.