Suva, Fiji, November 30, 2020– OCO continues its partnership with the International Trademark Association and recently participated in the virtual meeting of the sub-committee on anti-counterfeiting for East Asia Pacific.
Participants of the INTA sub-committee on Anti-counterfeiting East Asia Pacific Workshop
The annual meeting held from November 16-20 had more than a thousand participants from all over the world. OCO Head of Secretariat, Richard Brennan presented on the collaborative work it was doing with INTA as well as USPTO for the Pacific. One of those initiatives was the IPR awareness workshop conducted at the beginning of the year for OCO members.
The IPR experience of the OCO members varies but there is a gap in knowledge and the IPR legislative framework needs of our members. OCO Operations Manager, Mrs. Irma Daphney Stone says that while customs have a key role to play under its mandate not only to facilitate legitimate trade and investment but also to protect local businesses and communities. She says a holistic approach was needed and that customs could not do this in isolation but in consultation and collaboration with traders, investors and right holders, attorneys, agents to provide the necessary information if and when necessary.
“One of the key challenges for OCO members is that the right holders may not be present or investing in the country hence getting them to verify the status of goods in question may delay and be well outside of the holding period. While our members can call on Australia and New Zealand for assistance it does delay the process,” Mrs. Stone said.
OCO is working with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to assist members on an IPR overarching legislative framework.
For more information or any queries, please contact the Secretariat or email: mediaoco@ocosec.org
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