International Activities

　　During September 24 to 29, 2017, the Asia PJ dispatched a delegation of 5 members led by Mr. Ikemura, Managing Director of JIPA to the following 6 IP-related institutions in Thailand and Vietnam. The purpose of this dispatch is to make a proposal and request for improvement on issues related to ASEAN countries and collected from members of the Association, with the corresponding institutions. The target countries in this fiscal year are Thailand, where law revision continues, and Vietnam, where a movement toward law revision is seen.

Thailand：　Customs, High Court for Specialized Cases, Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), Economic Police

　　At the Customs of Thailand, we requested strengthening of measures for counterfeit products distributed via international mails and at the national boundary, whereas we were asked to make a registration with the trademark holder system and provide counterfeit product samples.
The high court for specialized cases is a new court established last October. We received introductions to the system of the court and differences from the past IP trials.
　　At DIP, we requested for example, shortening of the examination period and clear statement of the amendable period regarding patents and requested improvement in issues collected from members of the Association regarding each of designs and trademarks.

Vietnam：　Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute (VIPRI), National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP)

　　In Vietnam, we visited VIPRI and received introductions to their activities, research on IP, personnel training, consultation, authentication, and so on.
　　In NOIP, as in Thailand, we requested for example, acceleration of examination procedures and abolishment of the regulations on the minimum rate for service inventions regarding patents and requested improvements in issues collected from members of the association regarding each of design and trademarks.