1. Interregional Expert Meeting
South-South Collaboration and Triangular Cooperation for Access to Information and Knowledge, Innovation Support and Technology Transfer
Interregional Expert Meeting
5-6 May 2015, Lima, Peru
Antonio A.R. Mendoza

2. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
Founding: 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand
Enlargement: Brunei Darussalam (1984); Viet Nam (1995); Lao PDR and Myanmar (1997); and Cambodia (1999)
The ASEAN Charter: 15 December 2008
Ultimate goal: The ASEAN Community in 2015 2

3. Pillars of the ASEAN Community
Political and Security
Economic Community
Socio-Cultural
A Community based on three fundamental pillars:
ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC)
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC)
Roadmap for an ASEAN Community 2015 that includes three Community Blueprints, which provide the impetus for the realization of the ASEAN Community 2015 3

4. ASEAN Trade (Merchandise)
ASEAN at a glance (2013)
Country
GDP
(US$ million)
GDP/capita
(US$ PPP)
Merchandise Trade
ASEAN Trade (Merchandise)
Services Trade
As share of GDP (%)
Brunei
16,117
73,775
93.42
27.85
17.46
Cambodia
15,659
3,111
117.02
26.31
32.10
Indonesia
862,568
9,484
42.80
10.97
10.22
Lao PDR
10,283
4,532
57.23
37.27
12.78
Malaysia
312,072
23,089
139.15
38.17
27.41
Myanmar
56,661
3,464
42.89
18.05
6.25
Philippines
269,025
6,404
44.27
8.47
14.44
Singapore
297,941
78,762
262.89
69.37
87.07
Thailand
387,534
14,130
123.41
26.75
29.48
Viet Nam
171,219
5,315
154.64
23.09
13.02
ASEAN
2,397,079
*9,397
104.77
25.39
24.69
Source: ASEAN Statistics; data for 2013
*weighted average

5. ASEAN Economic Community
Single Market and Production Base
Free Flow of Goods
Free Flow of Services
Free Flow of Investment
Freer Flow of Capital
Free Flow of Skilled Labour
Competitive Economic Region
Competition Policy
Consumer Protection
Intellectual Property Rights
Infrastructure Development
Taxation
E-Commerce
Equitable Economic Development
SME Development
Initiative for ASEAN Integration
Full Integration Into the Global Economy
Coherent Approach towards External Economic Relations
Enhanced Participation in Global Supply Networks 5

6. ASEAN IPR Action Plan 2011-2015 Strategic Goal 3
Balanced IP system that enables delivery of timely, quality and accessible IP services.
Strategic Goal 2
Developed legal and policy infrastructures that address evolving demands of the IP landscape.
Strategic Goal 3
Regional interests are advanced through promotion of IP to ensure that it becomes a tool for innovation, and through support for technology transfer to promote access to knowledge.
Strategic Goal 4
Active regional participation in the international IP community to develop capacity of ASEAN Member States and to address needs of stakeholders.
Strategic Goal 5
Increased level of cooperation among ASEAN Member States to enhance human and institutional capacity of IP Offices. 6

7. Initiatives under the ASEAN IPR Action Plan
SG1
13 initiatives-45 deliverables
Reduction of turnaround time for TM registration
Patent search and examination cooperation (ASPEC)
Regional classification of ethnic goods and services
Capacity building for patent/trademark/design professionals
Regional action plan on enforcement
Copyright initiatives (exceptions and limitations; use of copyright system ; CMOs)
Geographical indications
TKGRTCE
Plant variety protection
SG2
3 initiatives-21 deliverables
Accession to Madrid Protocol, Hague Agreement and Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
SG3
5 initatives-15 deliverables
Regional network of patent libraries in universities
Regional IP promotional campaigns
Awareness raising on technology transfer and commercialization
Enhancing SME capability to utilize IP
ASEAN IP portal (website)
SG4
4 initiatives-14 deliverables
Regional cooperation with dialogue partners
Regional participation in international forums and enhanced interface with stakeholder groups
Development of strong negotiating position on IP
SG5
3 initiatives-13 deliverables
Capacity building for patent, trademark and design examiners
Modernization of IT infrastructures 7

8. Dialogue Partners 8

9. ASEAN Patent Search and Examination Cooperation (ASPEC)
regional patent work-sharing arrangement among nine AMS IP Offices (except Myanmar)
reference to earlier work done by an AMS IP Office could help an examiner in another AMS IP Office to develop his search criteria or strategy more quickly, helping to reduce effort in searching and assisting the examiner to understand the claimed invention faster
processes will be advanced out of turn until grant when an ASPEC request is filed
applicants in ASEAN have started using the ASPEC facility and initiatives will be undertaken to move ASPEC from an applicant-driven system to an office-driven system in the longer term.
future work will involve collaboration with dialogue partners for possible assistance and usage of IT platforms for bibliographic data and document sharing, and information exchange among AMS, and other IP offices 9

10. Regional Network of Patent Libraries
establishment of a network of patent libraries in ASEAN
seeks to increase access to global scientific and technological information
intended to support R&D activities by providing technical assistance to universities that agree to establish patent libraries in the region
a regional meeting was convened with the participation of representatives from universities and research institutions
next plans will include, among others, capacity-building activities and developing technical infrastructure and information
immediate steps for consideration include formalizing engagements with focal universities and research institution and establishing technology and innovation support networks 10

11. Reduction of Turnaround Time for Trademark Registration
sharing and implementation of best practices aimed at eliminating backlog in trademark applications
adoption of Common Guidelines for Substantive Examination of Trademarks, a reference document prepared by AMS IP Offices to enhance the quality and transparency in the substantive examination of trademark applications
the Common Guidelines contain principles and standards that could be applied regardless of the manner in which the individual AMS IP Offices carry out the examination process according to domestic laws
usage of Common Guidelines is intended to focus the practices of the AMS IP Offices to enable a higher level of consistency in the decisions of examiners and to reduce average turnaround time for the registration of trademarks
setting-up of the ASEAN TMView, an online platform that contains information on more than 2 million trademarks applications and registrations having effect in ASEAN and which provides users with a practical tool to obtain data on trademarks in the region 11

12. Copyright Exceptions and Limitations
information-sharing and exploring best practices on copyright exceptions and limitations for the visually impaired and persons with disabilities
an environmental scan was conducted in ASEAN on the legal, institutional and social cultural situation relevant to installing copyright limitations
a workshop was convened to look at the state of law of copyright which could impede access information by VIPs and to share the recent developments at the international level regarding the subject 12

13. GRTKTCE
information-sharing and exchange of best practices on GRTKTCE protection and establishment of national and regional databases on GRTKTCE
an issues paper on IP and GRTKTCEs was drafted to catalogue and describe the available options to address policy issues
there are varied interests and concerns in respect of these subjects and that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ template to protecting GRTKTCEs may not likely be workable at this time, given variations in national priorities, the legal and cultural environment and the needs of traditional communities 13

14. Enforcement
information awareness activities (including development of information materials) on enforcement, and private sector involvement in anti-piracy and information awareness campaigns
steps are being explored to set up an online platform for publicly available statistical information relating to IP enforcement, including the status of IP cases in the judiciary

15. Thank You. 15 15