The idea of creating regional ASEAN IP offices has been floated
before; principally in the early 2000s. There was talk of a
separate regional patent, designs and trademarks offices based
perhaps in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. But
insufficient support in other large countries, like Indonesia and
Vietnam, combined with a solution for international filing offered
by Madrid adoption scuppered those plans.
The 2016-25 ASEAN IP Action plan has put the idea back on the
region's agenda. The regional IP practitioner's group, the
ASEAN IP Association, has been looking again at regional trademark
harmonisation. The EU's Arise+ IP project is considering a
feasibility study for ASEAN (given the success of the EUIPO). They
will consider aspects such as legal infrastructure, operational
set-up, fee structures, stakeholder interests, and the impact on
national trademark systems. ASEAN Member States held a meeting in
Bangkok several months ago at which it was discussed. A
