Intellectual property protection has become a very important issue in international economic relations. Increasingly, the developed countries are treating intellectual property rights as a precondition of meaningful trade negotiations with developing countries, as exemplified by the recent trade dispute between the United States and the Peoples’ Republic of China. Recognition of the growing significance of intellectual property has also resulted in the inclusion of the subject for negotiations during the GATT Uruguay Round which subsequently brought about the signing of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to affirm member countries’ commitments to intellectual property protection.
In ASEAN, Intellectual Property is also proving to be a relevant and pressing matter as its Member Countries progress in the rapid actualisation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). The Fourth ASEAN Summit saw the signing of the Singapore Declaration which established AFTA and installed the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme as its main instrument for implementation. The CEPT originally provides for the reduction of tariffs on all manufactured goods to 0-5% within 15 years beginning 1 January 1993. However, at the 26th Meeting of the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM), all Member Countries agreed to shorten the time frame from 15 years to 10 years to realise AFTA. In addition, the ASEAN Member Countries also agreed to include almost all agricultural products (processed and unprocessed) in the CEPT-AFTA Scheme.
The fundamental objectives of AFTA are to attract greater foreign direct investment (FDI) into the region and to enhance the competitiveness of ASEAN as a production base for the global market. To achieve this, ASEAN is considering the issue of intellectual property protection as it is an important factor in the establishment of a favourable climate for investment, especially in technology transfer.
The comprehensive and rapid tariff reduction on manufactured goods provided in the CEPT is aimed at transforming the structure of industries ASEAN to increase their competitiveness. In order to facilitate the transformation, ASEAN needs substantial new technology to upgrade its industries. The most viable option for ASEAN to achieve this is through the purchase of technology. In fact, it has been projected that ASEAN will be the biggest buyer of technology in the next decade.
The limitation that ASEAN faces in acquiring new technology is the lack of uniform standards and protection or treatment of intellectual property. However, efforts are currently being taken in many ASEAN Member Countries to amend their laws to enable them to meet their obligations as members of international conventions such as Paris and Berne, the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and as signatories to the TRIPS. In addition, the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting (SEOM) had also in June 1994, established an ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation to look into the possibility of drawing up a ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation to protect intellectual property. The Working Group has been actively pursuing its task and has now completed a draft Framework Agreement, taking into account regional and international developments including the interpretation of TRIPS. Included in the objectives of the Framework Agreement will be the setting up of an ASEAN Patent and Trademark System. The draft ASEAN Framework Agreement is expected to be finalised in September 1995 to be submitted for consideration at the 27th ASEAN Economic Minister’s Meeting.
In the area of external cooperation. ASEAN established a cooperation programme with the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in January 1993 to strengthen the legislative framework of intellectual property protection in the region. The initial phase of the cooperation programme was completed in October 1993 with the implementation of five activities.
Included in these activities were the comparative studies made on the industrial property legislation and the copyright legislation in ASEAN respectively. A new ASEAN-WIPO medium-term programme was adopted in June 1994 consisting of nine activities to be covered over a period of two to three years. Several of these activities had already taken place. Among them were (i) the conduct of the WIPO-ASEAN Roundtable on Comparative Intellectual Property Systems of ASEAN Member Countries; (ii) the provision of inputs by WIPO to assist ASEAN in formulating the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property Cooperation; and (iii) the conduct of a study by WIPO on the impact and implications of intellectual property developments on AFTA. In addition to these, on-going efforts are being made by WIPO to organise appropriate national or ASEAN meetings/ seminars on other issues relating to intellectual property rights.
Corresponding to the ASEAN-WIPO cooperation programme, ASEAN has also been actively cooperating with the European Union (EU) and Japan in the area of intellectual property. The ASEAN-EU Patents and Trademarks Programme (ECAP), which began in September 1993, contributed significantly to the modernisation and strengthening of the region’s administration and enforcement of intellectual property protection. Efforts are also underway to provide human resource development in the field of intellectual property with assistance of the ASEAN-Japan Intellectual Cooperation Programme.
The importance of intellectual property towards economic development is well understood and accepted by ASEAN. The benefits of strengthening intellectual property protection will not only be in attracting more investment in-flows but also in stimulating domestic research, enhancing technologies and facilitating greater access to markets in developed countries. However, the grant of intellectual property protection also entails costs. They include the expenses associated with administering and enforcing protection laws and regulations, increased payments of proprietary knowledge and higher prices due to anti-competitive elements associated with intellectual property rights. Restrictions on intellectual property could also have an impact on employment, foreign exchange earnings, industrial output and the process of learning through “reverse engineering”.
ASEAN is willing and prepared to address the issue of intellectual property protection in its pursuit of trade and investment liberalisation through AFTA. However, ASEAN also has to take into consideration ability to achieve a fair and equitable exchange with its in or trading partners and investors through its efforts to promote and enhance intellectual property protection. The ultimate goal for ASEAN is therefore to cooperate with its major trading partners and investors to attain mutual benefits on the issue of intellectual property protection and to identify the appropriate measures to be taken to facilitate the realisation of these benefits with the aim of propelling the region towards a more vibrant and productive future.
October 3rd, 2012
