Today, the ASEAN Member States and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) during the ASEAN-WIPO Interface Meeting at the 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM). The MOU was signed by the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, and the Director General of WIPO, Mr. Daren Tang, and witnessed by Economic Ministers of ASEAN Member States (AMS).
The MOU aims to expand ASEAN and WIPO cooperation in four specific areas, namely supporting ASEAN micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups in their use of IP in intra-regional trade; leveraging on digital technologies for business success; unlocking the use of IP and intangible assets to secure monetization; and financing and supporting the creative industries of ASEAN.
The importance of IP development to the ASEAN Economic Community has been emphasized by the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, as the “epicenter of ASEAN efforts to cultivate a competitive and innovative region that thrives on an inclusive economic growth, social advancement and enduring prosperity.” For decades, ASEAN has steadfastly reinforced intellectual property cooperation to stimulate innovation, value creation and enhance the competitive advantage for products and services in the regional and global markets. As a region, the AMS showed promising progress in climbing up the Global Innovation Index (GII) ladder from year to year. In 2022, out of 132 countries ranked, 1 AMS was ranked Top 10; 3 AMS ranked Top 50, and 4 AMS ranked Top 100. The region has witnessed the emergence of key ASEAN economic hubs such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok were highlighted as cities with a high density of inventors and scientific authors. In terms of IP value from an intangible asset perspective, data from the GII placed ASEAN’s leading brands at over $250 billion USD, a strong indication of the surging ASEAN’s IP significance for all stakeholders, including businesses, investors, innovators and creators.
Since the signing of the first ASEAN IP Framework Agreement in 1995, WIPO has been among the first key partners, forging close collaboration with ASEAN. The partnership has been instrumental in delivering capacity building, catalysing digital transformation in AMS IP Offices, and supporting the AMS to join major WIPO treaties. As a result, most AMS IP regimes are integrated into WIPO’s patent, trademark and design international registration systems, which provide ASEAN businesses with a seamless path towards intra-regional and global trade.
Dr. Kao Kim Hourn underscored that signing of the MOU is a “pivotal step to usher a whole new chapter of robust collaboration and partnership between ASEAN and WIPO in a new era constantly reshaped by digital technologies, sustainability and inclusivity.”The MOU fully reflected the WIPO – ASEAN committed actions for the benefits of ASEAN’s entrepreneurs, SMEs, innovators and creators in the coming period.
Source: ASEAN
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<p>Time: 2024 By: Ministry of Industry and Trade</p>
