CAMBODIA: KOREA ASEAN Joint Declaration on IP Cooperation

H.E. Ouk Prachea, Secretary of State, and H.E. Pan Sosak from the Ministry of Commerce led a delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of Commerce to attend the ASEAN - Heads of Intellectual Property and Patent Offices Meeting in Seoul, South Korea during November 14th to 16th, 2022.

The meeting aimed to focus on two key strategic directions for future cooperation between ASEAN IP Offices. First, the meeting focused on improving the infrastructure for intellectual property education. Second, the meeting addressed improvements in intellectual property systems. The meeting provided the ASEAN Heads an opportunity to discuss the importance of the intellectual property ecosystem related to innovation as a key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.

The Secretary of State praised the cooperation between the ASEAN Intellectual Property Unit and the Korea Patent Unit -- providing technical assistance to strengthen cooperation in sectors such as the digital economy, innovation, innovative economic development, intellectual property, digital gap narrowing, digital connectivity, agricultural technology, digital government, and preparation for the fourth industrial revolution, especially for small and medium enterprises through digital transformation, e-commerce, science and technology, capacity building, and human resource development.

Furthermore, H.E. the Secretary of State, Chairman of the Delegation, attended a bilateral meeting between the National Commission for the Management of Intellectual Property and the Korea Patent Unit on the exchange of information on intellectual property progress, such as the law regulating?intellectual property, the establishment of a national intellectual property training institute, and the Information Technology Support Center project, which will continue to support the implementation of the National Intellectual Property Policy, which will be approved by the Royal Government in the near future.

Finally, the Director General of the Korea Patent Unit pledged to continue to support more Cambodian projects to help promote intellectual property in Cambodia.

Author: Daniel Greif, Director, S&O IP Southeast Asia, Sr. Trademark Attorney

Celine Heng, S&O IP Cambodia, Trademark Agent