APEC Officials LoginAPEC Groups
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Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group |
Intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement is a key factor for promoting foreign trade and investment, as well as for boosting economic development.
In recognition of its importance, IPR was included in the 1995 Osaka Action Agenda; APEC?s strategic roadmap for achieving free and open trade and investment in the region.
In 1996, the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) established an Intellectual Property Rights Get-Together (IPR-GT), The aim was to ensure adequate and effective protection, through legislative, administrative and enforcement mechanisms, of intellectual property rights in the Asia-Pacific region based on the principles of the World Trade Organisation's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) and other related agreements. In 1997, the CTI made the IPR-GT an official APEC group with explicit terms of reference, and renamed it the Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group (IPEG).
The IPEG implements a work program which aims to:
- Deepen the dialogue on intellectual property policy.
- Survey and exchange information on the current status of IPR protection and administrative systems.
- Study measures for the effective enforcement of IPR.
- Fully implement the TRIPS Agreement.
- Facilitate technical cooperation to help economies implement TRIPS.
Achievements
The IPEG has been especially active in providing IP capacity building programs over the past two years:
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. An online resource is currently being developed in connection with this project.
A seminar entitled From Mind to Market: The Highs and Lows of Technology Transfer was held in Singapore on February 23-24. It brought IP policy makers together to consider how technology transfer offices and networks allied to universities and other institutes of higher learning play an important role in promoting technology transfer as an economic driver, especially amongst SMEs. The seminar identified continued innovation and development of IP management practices as key to assisting businesses.
In January 2009, a workshop on Effective Implementation of Model Guidelines on Supply Chain Integrity was held in Hong Kong, China. The focus was on how companies can ensure that their supply chains are free of counterfeit/pirated products. The workshop provided an opportunity for companies in the APEC region and relevant IP officials to exchange information and best practices on ensuring supply chain integrity.
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.
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
Current Activities
The IPEG is currently completing 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 in July 2009 to foster basic IP awareness in APEC economies. The course provided training to 466 participants from 18 APEC economies, with 172 trainees successfully completing a certification exam. A follow-up off-line course was held in Daejon, Korea. The Daejon course provided 30 selected trainees from 15 APEC economies with practical experience and study of advanced IPR information and databases. Additional e-learning contents are now being developed.
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."
The 30th IPEG meeting is scheduled to take place on March 5-6, 2010 in Hiroshima, Japan.
Contact Information
Convenor of the Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group
Mr. Jorge H. AMIGO
Director General, Mexican Institute for Industrial Property
Periférico Sur # 3106,
9th Floor, Col Jardines del Pedregal, Mexico DF CP 01900
Tel. (52 55) 624 0401
Email: jamigo@impi.gob.mx
Assistant to IPEG Chair
Ms. Irma HERRERA
Email: iherrera@impi.gob.mx
APEC Secretariat
Ms. Natalie Nii
Director (Program)
E-mail: njn@apec.org
Reviewed on: 10th September 2009