Activity in relation to IPR throughout the region has been high. The need for TRIPS compliance has, by and large, continued to set the legislative agendas for WTO member states, (with the notable exception of China). Ongoing programmes organised by the European Patent Office (EPO) and WIPO have provided IPR education, most recently in Vietnam in March, as well as technical assistance in the form of automated IPR office systems. Other bilateral projects providing training to judges and enforcement authorities have gone ahead as well, for example between Australia and Indonesia.
Notwithstanding governmental efforts to improve local IPR regimes, perceived problems of widescale infringement remain in many parts of Asia, as reflected in the US Trade Representative's Special 301 Annual Review issued on 1st May 1998. After some years as the major focus of the USTR's attention, China has taken significant steps to enforce IPR laws in the area of infringement of copyright relating to CDs, VCDs and other optical media. The closure of more than 60 illegal factories in this industry over the past two years has, however, driven the problem elsewhere, particularly to Macao which is now on the USTR's Priority Watch List, along with India and Indonesia. Hong Kong, another jurisdiction more severely affected by CD piracy since the mainland clampdown, stays on the Watch List together with Australia, Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Although no longer a "Priority Foreign Country" for the USTR, China is still subject to "Section 306 Monitoring", meaning that trade sanctions can, in theory, be imposed immediately if China fails to maintain the improvement it has shown to date.
The nine members of the Association of South East Asian Nations, (ASEAN), have meanwhile taken first steps to enhance co-operation and consistency in relation to intellectual property matters. In the context of the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Intellectual Property signed in late 1995, the newly formed ASEAN Intellectual Property Association convened for the first time in March 1998. ASEAN potentially provides a forum for countries in the region to agree upon harmonisation of local laws in such a way as to comply with international conventions such as TRIPS, whilst taking into account particular regional needs. A sensible focus for this approach would be the criteria for determining famous marks, which are otherwise in danger of diverse local treatment. More controversial are proposals for centralised ASEAN Trade Mark and Patent Offices, possibly along the lines of the European models.
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