ARISE+ IPR hosted the first meeting of the ASEAN Trade Mark Convergence Network in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 31 October to 1 November 2019. The meeting aimed to strengthen cooperation among ASEAN IP offices on trade marks and support trade mark-related initiatives, with a long-term goal of creating more points of convergence and minimising divergence in ASEAN IP systems, specifically in the area of trade marks.

Concurrently with the signature of the new EU-funded project in the Caribbean, the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) organised a consultation meeting with the Intellectual Property (IP) Offices of CARIFORUM on 1 October 2019 in Geneva, at the margins of the WIPO General Assemblies.

The meeting allowed high ranking officials from the CARIFORUM States to exchange views on the most compelling IP issues in the region, while setting priorities for the new EU-funded project’s first annual work plan.

From 23 to 27 September 2019, ARISE+ IPR hosted national capacity building workshops on Geographical Indications for local GI producers, respectively in Bali, Indonesia (23 September), in Sarawak region, Malaysia (25 September), and in Chiang Rai, Thailand (27 September).

The ARISE+ IPR team supported IP officials from Cambodia and Lao PDR to attend the Advanced InterGI training on “The collective management of quality for Geographical Indications”, taking place from 23-28 September 2019 in Gruyere, Switzerland.

On 29-30 October 2019, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, ARISE+ IPR held a training course for ASEAN design examiners on the ASEAN Common Guidelines on the Examination and Registration of Industrial Designs. The main purpose of the Common Guidelines is to improve the quality, consistency and transparency of the design registration process across the ASEAN region.

ASEAN GI Database is the common online Geographical Indications (GIs) platform of the ASEAN Member States aimed at making the information of all registered GIs in the ASEAN region widely available and easily accessible to all interested stakeholders.