APEC ministers endorse guidelines to fight fake goods
APEC ministers endorse guidelines to fight fake goods
Deutsche-Agence Presse, Bangkok
Ministers from Pacific Rim economies endorsed Saturday a document detailing a set of guidelines to fight the rampant production of counterfeit or pirated goods in the region, according to a final draft of the document, the Kyodo news agency reported Saturday.
The document, approved by the trade and foreign ministers from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum members, said vigorous enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPRs) will rev up economic development.
The paper, titled "the Comprehensive Strategy on IPR in APEC," details how APEC economies will coordinate their efforts to curb violations of IPR in the region, Kyodo reported.
The document, a copy of which was obtained by Kyodo News, will be issued later Saturday at the end of the two-day APEC ministerial meeting in Bangkok.
Some APEC economies are known havens for fake goods due to unhampered unlicensed production and distribution of imitation trademark goods and pirated copyright goods.
Investors find the protection of IPR is still insufficient in the APEC region owing to weak enforcement in some economies.
"To improve IPR protection, and especially enforcement, within the APEC region, it is important that individual economies undertake initiatives and that a variety of cooperative efforts are pursued strategically within the APEC framework," the document says, according to Kyodo.
The paper urges APEC economies to promote information exchange to improve IPR enforcement in the region, saying this will promote "knowledge-based economies."
"It is important for the economies to exchange information on what measures each economy is taking to secure rights. The information should include some of the best practices adopted by the economy," it says.
The paper also calls for the training of IPR enforcement personnel, including police, customs and courts, through on-the- job training workshops and the dispatch of experts.
The paper also urges the member economies to provide "rights holders" information regarding IPR-related laws, regulations and administrative procedures. "This also supports the broader APEC objective on improving transparency," it says.
"It is also important to provide the general public in each economy with information on the harm and problems caused by infringing goods so that they will respect IPR and avoid purchasing counterfeit or pirated goods," the paper adds.
The APEC ministers have instructed the senior officials "to develop concrete plans to implement the strategy." They also emphasize the importance of implementation of well-targeted projects which take into account the particular needs of developing APEC economies.
"In this area, increased support for capacity building programs as well as infrastructure development in order to strengthen the fight against piracy is required," the final draft says, according to Kyodo.
The growth of the "digital economy" creates new challenges in the enforcement of IPR. In fact, APEC leaders' urged the APEC economies in their statement last year to implement APEC policies on trade and the digital economy, in Los Cabos, Mexico, Kyodo said.
In 1995, the APEC leaders stressed the importance of IPR and even offered important guidelines for action within the APEC region in the Osaka Action Agenda.
"APEC's work in this area will enhance economies' abilities to engage in broader trade and investment liberalization, which will help APEC meet the Bogor Goals," the draft says, Kyodo reported.
The Bogor Goals call for developed nations in APEC to lower tariff barriers to 0 percent to 5 percent by 2010 and for developing nations to do so by 2020, Kyodo said.
APEC groups Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.