CONFERENCE ON IPRs IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN BANGKOK, THAILAND AND SHARING HEIP-LINK PROJECT

Dr. Tran Dinh Lam, Director of the Center for Vietnamese and Southeast Asian Studies, attended the 2nd conference on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in Developing Countries in Bangkok, Thailand, on December 09.

Given the success of the first conference last December, Waseda University (Japan) coordinated with JETRO Bangkok to hold the second symposium with the participation of Prof. Koji Domon from Waseda Unviersity, Prof. Kawashima Nobuko from Doshisha University (Japan), Okuma Yasuo from JETRO Bangkok, Michael Yuan from the Bottom Line Facts International LLC together with several Thai speakers.

Professors and experts attended the conference.

The conference kicked off with Dr. Tran Dinh Lam’s presentation: “The role of the government in protecting the IPRs in Vietnam”. Coming up next was “JETRO’s Intellectual Property Activities in Southeast Asia” by Yasuo Ohkuma. The conference continued with the presentation on the real situation of IPRs in Thailand picturing the procedures for charging IPRs infringements by Chainarong Charoenchainao, Deputy Commander of the Economic Crime Division. Ms. Baralee Ratnapinda, Customs Technical Officer-Professional Level, the Customs Department, presented the efforts in combating counterfeiting and piracy of the Thai Customs.

The next session of the conference was followed by Prof. Nobuko Kawashima from Doshisha University, who talked about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Copyright Law and Japanese Creative Culture. Fabrice Mattei from Rouse & Co. (Thailand) continued with “Moving towards the depenalization of IPRs enforcement?”. Next was “Enforcement of IP Rights in Thailand” by Prakasith Sutthikul, Head of Suppression Section, Office of Prevention and Suppression of IPRs Violation, Department of Intellectual Property. The conference ended with the presentation “Food for Thought: Food Problems and IPR’s Role in Their Solutions” by Michael Yuan.

According to Prof. Domon, medicine in Vietnam is under strict management, unlike in Cambodia, where it lacks the government’s concern. In reality, not only this type of product but also many other kinds of goods have been smuggled with huge amount into Thailand. Authorities have inspected numerous cases at the border, but still failed to control the situation.

As a result, besides enhancing the cooperation among customs, economic police and market managers, it is very essential to raise public awareness about the role of technology and investment in studies. Moreover, there is an urgent need to impose stiff sanctions and penalties for counterfeit-related cases so the rights of manufacturers and customers will be guaranteed.

Taking the occasion of attending this conference, Dr. Tran Dinh Lam shared HEIP-LINK project with the conference participants. This is a project within the frame of cooperation with the University of Alicante (Spain) funded by the European Commission through the Eramus Mundus Program, aiming at putting more emphasis on the cooperation among higher education institutions and enhancing awareness of IPRs.

Dr. Tran Dinh Lam introduced HEIP-LINK project to Mr. Yasuo Okuma.

Recent news

Same category