9:49:31 AM | 8/2/2005
Recently, the EC-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Co-operation Programmed (ECAP II) and the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) of Vietnam launched the first phase of ECAP II’s infrastructure programmed aimed at the public library offering intellectual property information at the NOIP premises.
A European Commission supported initiative, ECAP II operates on a total funding of 9 million Euros. The EPO and the office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade marks and Designs) implement activities with national IP offices of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to strengthen IP rights enforcement, public awareness on IP matters, and information exchanges between Europe and ASEAN. Vietnam now represents the largest national programme under ECAP II with 1.5 million Euros allocated for more than 50 activities.
"We at the EPO are very pleased to have worked in close partnership with the European Commission through ECAP II to strengthen the intellectual property system in Vietnam. The EPO also implemented the IPR part of the EURO-TAP Viet programme. The EPO stands ready to lend support and expertise that Vietnam requires in the field of intellectual property rights," said Vice President of Legal and International Affairs, European Patent Office Prof. Manuel Desantes. Since the launch of the ECAP II Strategic Modernization Plan and the Overall Work Plan of Vietnam in March this year, a number of activities have been completed or are in progress. These include:
Training of NOIP examiners in streamlining the patent granting process; assessment of IP legal texts into English; an evaluation of TRIPs compliance. (The Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights of the World Trade Organization); Training of NOIP staff in industrial designs examination; Laying the foundation for more activities in field of Geographical Indications (Gls) in Vietnam, ECAP II recently invited a delegation of 12 Vietnamese officials to study the administration of Gls protection for agricultural products in France and Portugal; In the area of enforcement, a European expert is assessing the current enforcement structures in Vietnam in comparison to international standards and there are more enforcement related activities envisaged under ECAP II.
Raising public awareness on the importance of intellectual property rights to national economic development and how it helps to promote trade and investment ties between Vietnam and Europe is one of the main goals of ECAP II. The strengthening of the public library at the NOIP in Hanoi, and at the Center for Science and Technology Information in Ho Chi Minh City complement the objective. In addition, ECAP II has recently commissioned 1,000 CDs on IPR protection in Vietnam.
ECAP II equipped the library at NOIP and CESTI with four sets of personal computers with printers and Internet connection. Books and literature for IP libraries have also been purchased. The general public will be able to access and use the resources at these two facilities. In addition, this would allow NOIP and CESTI to function as information hubs for provinces in the regions.
Vietnamese
