IP and ASEAN
It was formed in the late 1960s following the Bangkok Declaration of August 8, 1967. The ASEAN Charter was signed in Singapore on November 20, 2007 and became effective on December 15, 2008. It formally establishes ASEAN as an entity.
At the 8th ASEAN Summit in Cambodia on November 4, 2002, ASEAN members agreed to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as a unified market with full-scale trade liberalisation. The AEC has adopted four main objectives in its AEC Blueprint, consisting of: (1) a single market and production base; (2) a highly competitive economic region; (3) equitable economic development; and (4) full integration into the global economy. ASEAN aims at achieving these by 2015.
“At the 8th ASEAN Summit in Cambodia, ASEAN members agreed to establish the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) as a unified market with full-scale trade liberalisation.”
One important aspect of the highly competitive economic region objective of the AEC Blueprint is the protection of intellectual property rights.
Under the ASEAN IP Action Plan 2004-2010 and the ASEAN IP Strategic Plan 2011-2015, ASEAN members have been working hard to fulfil a number of goals to make it a competitive and innovative community with better IP protection.
Amongst the most important of these goals are:
