- History of ASEAN & Introduction
On August 8, 1967, the foreign ministers, with the authority of their respective Heads of State/Government, of the Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of Philippines, the Republic of Singapore and, the Kingdom of Thailand, aware of their mutual interests and common issues given their shared history and geography, have signed what is now known as the ASEAN (Bangkok) Declaration[1]. The declaration aimed to “to establish a firm foundation for common action to promote regional cooperation in South-East Asia in the spirit of equality and partnership and thereby contribute towards peace, progress, and prosperity in the region”[2]. Since then, the number of the member-nations/states has increased to ten which now include Brunei Darussalam (1984)[3], the Kingdom of Cambodia (1999)[4], the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (1997)[5], the Union of Myanmar (1997)[6], and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam (1995)[7].
By 2015, the ASEAN member nations aim to create what would be known as ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in order to further their goals of creating a more globally competitive and a more regionally cooperative ASEAN economy. The precursor to this planned AEC in 2015 is the Common Effect Preferential Tariff (CEPT) Scheme within what came to be known as Asian Free Trade Area (AFTA)[8].
Aiming to form the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, ASEAN has released an “ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan, 2011-2015” to serve as a guide in the intellectual property sector in the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community. The said action plan stated specific goals to serve as its framework in creating AEC 2015. The specific goals are the following:
“Strategic Goal 1:
A balanced IP system that takes into account the varying levels of development of Member States and differences in institutional capacity of national IP Offices to enable them to deliver timely, quality, and accessible IP services to promote the region as being conducive to the needs of users and generators of IP.
Strategic Goal 2:
Developed national or regional legal and policy infrastructures that address evolving demands of the IP landscape and AMSs [ASEAN Member States] participate in global IP systems at the appropriate time.
Strategic Goal 3:
The interests of the region are advanced through systematic promotion for IP creation, awareness, and utilization to ensure that IP becomes a tool for innovation and development; support for the transfer of technology to promote access to knowledge; and with considerations for the preservation and protection of indigenous products and services and the works of their creative peoples in the region.
Strategic Goal 4:
Active regional participation in the international IP community and with closer relationships with dialogue partners and institutions to develop the capacity of Member States and to address the needs of stakeholders in the region.
Strategic Goal 5:
Intensified cooperation among AMSs and increased level of collaboration among them to enhance human and institutional capacity of IP Offices in the region.”[9]
This paper aims to do a brief study of the possible implications of the implementation of three of the five strategic goals with respect to the intellectual property rights of Filipinos in the road to creating the ASEAN Economic Community of 2015.
- Importance of the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights
The importance of ensuring the protection of intellectual property rights within the region lies with the fair conduct of business. Without such protection, the citizens of the ASEAN member states would not be encouraged to create more innovative products and processes because of the uncertainty that they will be credited nor have rights over their hard earned work and reap the benefit that would come with its success. This in turn would result to degradation of the region because of the lack of improvement in the region.
A perfect example of such a situation is the piracy of the products of the film industry in the region. When the issue of piracy first came into the lime-light, the said industry had suffered such huge losses which took quite awhile to recover when it first became a victim of piracy. However, due the recent efforts of the countries in the region to thwart the said issue, the film industry in the region has slowly recovered and started to make new materials again as it did in the past.
As simply stated, “the role of law for IPRs [intellectual property rights] protection is to trigger the birth of creativity”[10].
Futhermore, beyond its economic utilization, the protection of intellectual property rights must also be seen as a method to preserve one’s culture and heritage that is surely endemic to that region. The lack of protection of one’s culture and heritage may result to into creating an identity that is a mishmash of characteristics which were originally considered to be alien.
- A Balanced Intellectual Property System
“Strategic Goal 1:
A balanced IP system that takes into account the varying levels of development of Member States and differences in institutional capacity of national IP Offices to enable them to deliver timely, quality, and accessible IP services to promote the region as being conducive to the needs of users and generators of IP.”[11]
Seeing the need to be in the fore-front of technology regionally and globally, this strategic goal “focuses on registration, protection, and enforement of IPRs [intellectual property rights] and the programmes that will enable the region to provide simple and user-friendly protection frameworks, and improve the quality and accessibility of IP services”[12] in order to “continuously attract the inflow of cutting-edge technology through patent filings by assuring inventors and innovators that patents granted in any of the AMSs have a high presumption of validity and enforceability.”[13] The ASEAN Member States’ national IP offices would be expected to work with the different branches of their respective governments in order to deter intellectual property violations within their respective jurisdictions. This is the case because the authors of this action recognizes the impossibility of trying to create a unified patent court, unlike in the case of the a number of European Union member states[14].
The problem with the above-stated goal is that it aims to create a balanced IP system of its member states but in the same time recognizes the disparity in their levels of development and institutional capacity and resources of the national IP offices to implement the goals aimed for, wih respect to intellectual property rights. Such disparity may result in a situation wherein a number of member countries have already achieved the goals within their respective countries while other member countries are left behind.
- Raising Regional Awareness of Intellectual Property Rights
“Strategic Goal 3:
The interests of the region are advanced through systematic promotion for IP creation, awareness, and utilization to ensure that IP becomes a tool for innovation and development; support for the transfer of technology to promote access to knowledge; and with considerations for the preservation and protection of indigenous products and services and the works of their creative peoples in the region.”[15]
The protection of intellectual property rights in the region is essential as these rights may be used as a tool in advancing the ASEAN region’s economical and cultural landscape and in turn, affect the political landscape of the region. The need for an increased number of trademark and patent filings within the region would help in ensuring that the fruits of the the work of the citizens of member countries are reaped and utilized by their creators and eventually, the ASEAN region itself.
This aimed increase in the number of trademark and patent filings within the region would not be successful if the information and awareness campaigns and projects with regard to intellectual property rights aren’t intensified[16]. Citizens of the member states would not be able to utilize this right if they are unaware of its existence or the process that are involved with it.
- Enhancing the Capacity of Intellectual Property Offices in the Region
“Strategic Goal 5:
Intensified cooperation among AMSs and increased level of collaboration among them to enhance human and institutional capacity of IP Offices in the region.”[17]
For several years now, the ASEAN “has relied heavily on partners and institutions to enhance human and institutional capacity of national IP Offices”[18] which lead to the current situation wherein the national IP offices in the region have been unable to progress independently. The solution that is being envisioned by the ASEAN through its AEC 2015 is it should be the ASEAN member states that should be helping the national IP offices within the region[19] as ths would supposedly “result in the success of ASEAN projects”[20] and “will also build confidence in the capacity of member states to provide the assistance needed by other member states.”[21]
It would be vital that the national IP offices would slowly start to distance themselves from these partners and institutions as this affects their credibility and standing as independent government agencies.
- Conclusion
In keeping up with the times, it is vital that the intellectual property rights of the citizens of ASEAN member states be protected in order to create and sustain a ASEAN region that has a innovative and competitive edge in protecting the ever-flowing ideas of its citizens.
In providing for the strategic goals that may be found in “ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan, 2011-2015”, the ASEAN was able to present to the public its concrete plans in order to achieve the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 with respect to intellectual property rights which in turn would improve the awareness of its member states to be able to do their respective tasks effectively creating an even more cooperative ASEAN region.
The improved cooperation between ASEAN member states would further allow its citizens to create and innovate break-through products and processes that would benefit the general public while ensuring the rights of the creator are upheld and protected which in turn will make room for more demand of unique products and processes that can be identified with the region.
To sum up all of these, it will be highly beneficial for all ASEAN member states to participate in the implementation of the action plan, as this will benefit the entire ASEAN region and its protection of its intellectual property rights.
[1]“The Asean Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) Bangkok, 8 August 1967”. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. http://www.asean.org/news/item/the-asean-declaration-bangkok-declaration. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
[2] Id.
[3]“Overview”. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. http://www.asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
[4]Id.
[5]Id.
[6]Id.
[7]Id.
[8]“Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA Council)”.Association of Southeast Asian Nations. http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community/category/asean-free-trade-area-afta-council. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
[9] “ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan, 2011-2015”. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. http://www.aseanip.org/ipportal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:asean-intellectual-property-rights-action-plan-2011-2015&catid=84:resources&Itemid=455. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
[10]Santoso, E. & Roestamy, M.. “Asean’S Lack of Integration in Trademark Registration Related
to Asean Economic Community (AEC) by 2015”. http://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/JLPG/article/viewFile/8494/8433. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
[11]Id.
[12]Id.
[13]Id.
[14]“What is the Unified Patent Court (UPC)?”. Unified Patent Court. http://unified-patent-court.org/about-the-upc/14-category-a. Retrieved May 25, 2014
[15] “ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan, 2011-2015”. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. http://www.aseanip.org/ipportal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:asean-intellectual-property-rights-action-plan-2011-2015&catid=84:resources&Itemid=455. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
[16]Id.
[17] “ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan, 2011-2015”. Association of Southeast Asian Nations. http://www.aseanip.org/ipportal/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=142:asean-intellectual-property-rights-action-plan-2011-2015&catid=84:resources&Itemid=455. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
[18]Id.
[19]Id.
[20]Id.
[21]Id.