Action to combat piracy urged

Action to combat piracy urged

JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) should join forces to combat rampant copyright and
trademark piracy in the region, officials and experts on
intellectual property rights said on Friday.

Closer cooperation and coordination among intellectual
property offices, law enforcement and custom agencies were
instrumental to combat copyright piracy, the ASEAN policy forum
on intellectual property rights concluded in a statement at the
end of a three-day meeting in Denpasar, Bali.

"The Forum agreed on the importance of strong ASEAN
cooperation in the enforcement of intellectual property rights,
including cross-border measures, the exchange of information and
sharing of experiences in deterring violations or combating
piracy and counterfeiting."

"Demystification of intellectual property to the general
public through awareness and outreach programs" was also
important to effective enforcement, it said.

"The Forum emphasized the need to promote greater awareness
and understanding of intellectual property at every echelon of
the society, in particular, among policy makers, intellectual
property offices and administrations," the statement said.

The Forum also raised the importance of "the protection and
the creation of a system that will avoid unscrupulous
exploitation of traditional knowledge".

"Although traditional knowledge has become prominent ... there
has not been adequate international legal protection. A
consultation mechanism should be established to build
international consensus on the issues," the Forum said.

The forum was co-organized by the World Intellectual Property
Organization (WIPO) and the Ministry of Law and Legislation's
Directorate General of Intellectual Property Rights. (byg)