The 2nd meeting of the ASEAN Trade mark Convergence Network

The ASEAN Trade Mark Convergence Network aims to develop new content to improve the ASEAN Common Guidelines on Trade Marks, the overall quality of trade mark services in the region, to harmonise trade mark practices, and to discuss the technical and legal issues ASEAN IP Offices currently encounter. Following the 1st Trade Mark Convergence Network Meeting held in Kuala Lumpur in 2019, ARISE+ IPR virtually organised the 2nd Trade Mark Convergence Network Meeting on 9-10 March 2021.

The meeting was held on Zoom and attended by one trade mark expert and one legal representative from each ASEAN IP Office, ASEAN Secretariat representatives, and EUIPO Experts. The meeting aimed at identifying topics of concern, methodology, the responsibilities of each party, and the timeline for implementation. It also encouraged the trade mark experts and legal representatives from ASEAN IP Offices to share their trade mark practices, especially those on ‘Use of a Trade Mark Differing from the Form Registered’ and the ‘Distinctiveness of Three-Dimensional Marks.’

The meeting has increased convergence among ASEAN IP Offices in the examination of trade marks, measured by more predictable decisions, through the set-up of the meeting and its conclusions to foster greater convergence.