ID :
350987
Fri, 12/12/2014 - 05:48
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Asean Holds Advanced Training On Madrid Protocol

By Tengku Noor Shamsiah Tengku Abdullah SINGAPORE, Dec 12 (Bernama) -- The Asean member states continue to move forward with their initiative to accede to the Madrid Protocol by end-2015 as part of the Asean Economic Community-building. To continue to prepare and assist Asean member states to implement the protocol, an advanced training on Madrid Protocol operations was organised here from Tuesday until Thursday. Simple, cost-effective mechanisms for protecting intellectual property in the region enhance Asean competitiveness by giving businesses confidence that their valuable intellectual assets will be protected if they invest and trade across borders, said Asean Secretariat in a statement. With the Madrid Protocol, the Asean region will make it easier for trademark owners to do business by allowing them to file a single application in one of the accepted languages directly with his or her own national trademark office and use the application to seek protection in Asean and other important markets. This training is among the series of activities under the Accession to Madrid Protocol Project Phase II, which shifted its focus from awareness-raising to laying down the groundwork that would allow participating countries to build the necessary structures to enable them to operate the protocol efficiently. Leveraging on outcomes of Phase 1, the second phase makes use of the recommendations and accession plans to customise implementation work plans for the operationalisation of Madrid Protocol in the participating countries. The Madrid Protocol is an international trademark treaty administered by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO). To date, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam have acceded to the protocol. Other Asean member states are in various stages of their accession. The training was implemented under the auspices of the Asean-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area Economic Cooperation Support Programme and jointly organised with WIPO and the European Union-Asean Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (ECAP III). --BERNAMA

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