With the permission of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam (NOIP) hosted the 44^th Meeting of ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) from June 06 to July 03, 2014 in Ho Chi Minh City. About 30 delegates from intellectual property (IP) offices of ASEAN Member States (AMSs) and the ASEAN Secretariat attended this Meeting. 

Addressing the opening ceremony, Mr. Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology stressed the current role and contribution of the AWGIPC in enhancing the cooperation on IP among the AMSs and believed that this cooperative relationship will be strengthened to successfully implement objectives of 2011-2015 ASEAN Action Plan on intellectual property towards the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015 and to shape Action Plan for the post-2015 period. 

Mr. Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology addressed the opening ceremony of the 44th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation

 

Agenda of the Meeting included: reviewing activities implemented to reach IP objectives in the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint; reviewing the implementation progress of the 2011-2015 ASEAN Action Plan on IP; evaluating impacts of the 2011-2015 ASEAN IP Action Plan in order to formulate the post 2015 ASEAN Action Plan; and conducting dialogues with AWGIPC’s partners on IP cooperation. 

Mr. Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology took group photo with delegates participating in the 44th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation

 

Back-to-back with this AWGIPC Meeting, other events were also held: (i) the 5^th ASEAN and China IP Offices Heads Meeting; (ii) the 4^th ASEAN IP Offices and Japan Patent Office Heads Meeting; (iii) the 6^th AANZFTA IPC Meeting. 

On the sidelines of the AWGIPC Meeting, with the witness of Mr. Tran Van Tung, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, a Memorandum on Cooperation (MOC) between NOIP and the Intellectual Property of Singapore was signed in order to institutionalize bilateral cooperative relations on intellectual property between the two Offices. At the signing ceremony, Deputy Minister Tran Van Tung expressed his appreciation when the two Offices strengthen the cooperation not only within the AWGIPC but also in the bilateral framework and also expected that the two Offices will materialize the MOC by practical activities for effective development of the IP systems towards contributing to the socio-economic development of the two countries. 

The signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the National Office of Intellectual Property of Viet Nam and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

 

During this AWGIPC’s meeting, the Delegation of Viet Nam also had a bilateral meeting with the Japan Patent Office (JPO). Leaders of the two Offices reviewed the implementation of cooperation plan of 2013, discussed cooperation activities in 2014 and agreed to expand the cooperation scope of the Memorandum of Cooperation between the two Offices signed in February 2012 to prepare for the signing of the revised one on the sidelines of the WIPO General Assembly Meeting in Geneva, Switzerland in September 2014. This bilateral meeting ended by the signing of Mr. Ta Quang Minh, NOIP’s Director General and the JPO’s Commissioner on the NOIP-JPO cooperation plan for 2014. 

Mr. Ta Quang Minh, NOIP’s Director General  and Mr. Hideo Hato, JPO’s Commissioner discussed at the bilateral meeting between two Offices

 

Mr. Ta Quang Minh, NOIP’s Director General and Mr. Hdeo Hato, JPO’s Commissioner signed the NOIP-JPO cooperation plan 2014

 

In addition, the Delegation of Viet Nam also had bilateral meetings with Delegations from AMSs, the National Institute of Industrial Property of France, IP Australia and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in order to strengthen cooperation with these countries/organizations./. 

International Cooperation Division