The protection of intellectual property rights and their enforcement is a foundational enabler for innovation, promoting foreign trade and investment as well as boosting economic development for residents across Asia-Pacific and beyond.
In recognition of the importance of Intellectual Property Rights, they were featured in the 1995 Osaka Action Agenda — APEC's strategic roadmap for achieving free and open trade and investment in the region.
In 1996, the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) established an Intellectual Property Rights Get-Together (IPR-GT). The aim was to ensure the adequate and effective protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific leaders understand that the effective protection of IP is essential to encourage innovation and job creation, as it converts innovative ideas, imaginative designs and other intangible assets into business assets. In 1997, the CTI made the IPR-GT an official APEC group with explicit terms of reference and renamed it the Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group (IPEG).
Topics that IPEG’s work engages with include:
- Trademark links
- Deepening the dialogue on intellectual property (IP) policy
- New technologies
- Patent grace periods
- International IP dispute resolution
- IP enforcement
- IP commercialization & securitization of IP assets
- Interoperability
In 2023-2024, IPEG’s key focus areas are:
1. IP Financing
2. IP in the Digital Economy and Interconnectivity
3. IP for Sustainable and Inclusive Growth
IPEG held its 57th Meeting in Seattle, Washington, United States on 1-2 August 2023 and its 58th Meeting in Lima, Peru on 26-27 February 2024 and its 59th Meeting in Lima, Peru on 17-18 August 2024. IPEG will hold its next meeting in Korea in early 2025 and we look forward to updating you with more information when we can.
Last page update: September 2024
Contacts
Chair
Intellectual Property Department
Undersecretariat of International Economic Affairs
Vice Chair
Korean Intellectual Property Office
Program Director
Current Activities
CTI’s priorities and key activities
- Support for the multilateral trading system
- Advancing regional economic integration
- Trade facilitation and strengthening connectivity and infrastructure
- Promoting innovative development and inclusive approaches
- Engagement with the business sector and industry dialogues
An overview of the work of the CTI and its 11 sub-fora — the dialogues, initiatives and achievements made in 2022 — are encapsulated in the 2022 CTI Annual Report to Ministers.