ASEAN: a golden birthday

With the ASEAN region celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, WIPR assesses how far its IP systems have come and what the future holds.

A paintballing championship, an essay competition and a flag raising ceremony are just some of the many events taking place in 2017 to celebrate a special 50th anniversary.

On August 8, 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in Bangkok by Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore. Brunei Darussalam joined 17 years later, and by 1999, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia had all acceded. Today these ten nations make up a vibrant and diverse region that is home to more than 620 million people.

ASEAN’s IP system has come a long way in that 50 years, helped by wide-scale harmonisation efforts. For some countries the journey has been much more arduous, reminding us of the political struggles that have been overcome.