Page 12 - 2017 INTA Annual Report

ASIA-PACIFIC AND CHINA
INTERVIEW WITH: Seth Hays Chief Representative Officer
QWhat was the main focus of the Asia- Pacific office in its first year of operation, since opening in Singapore in March 2016?
Q Your regions witnessed a significant rise
in membership, gaining 60 total members between 2016 and 2017 and increasing corporate membership alone by more than 20 percent.
To what would you attribute this growth?
AOur main focus was to firmly establish INTA’s footprint in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The region’s sheer size, which ranges from Mongolia in the north to Australia in the south, and its cultural and political diversity, call for a varied set of objectives, activities, and priorities on a country-by-country basis. Despite these challenges, we have successfully raised the Association’s profile through increased advocacy efforts and events across the region.
Marking one area of uppermost importance in 2017, we worked on countering legislative initiatives on brand restrictions. INTA submitted letters to government officials in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan on plain packaging and brand restrictions for tobacco and alcohol products, and we monitored proposed legislation in Nepal for brand restrictions and oversized graphic health warnings on alcoholic beverages.
The trade in counterfeit goods is another one of our leading policy priorities—and 2017 was a year of milestones for us with
regard to this. We organized the first policy dialogue between international brands and local e-commerce platforms in Indonesia regarding the sale of counterfeits online, including sharing best practices developed by INTA’s Anticounterfeiting Committee. We also hosted the first government- industry dialogue on enforcement of trademark rights in Brunei following the country’s initial raids against trademark counterfeiters. In addition, we successfully advocated against regulatory proposals by Singapore Customs, which would have eased the transshipment of counterfeit goods.
the EU Intellectual Property Office, on preventing bad-faith registration of trademarks. These efforts included participating in a series of working-level discussions that resulted in policy changes at CTMO.
Anticounterfeiting remains at the top of INTA’s priorities in China as well as elsewhere in the world. This is a critical topic here—one that is much talked about, and there is progress being made in awareness and enforcement.
AIn China, INTA members worked closely with the China Trade Mark Office (CTMO) and representatives from governments outside China, namely the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and
In 2017, INTA leveraged
China’s Belt and Road Initiative for global economic cooperation to address the increasing trade in counterfeit goods at a groundbreaking panel at the China Trademark Association’s Trademark Festival in September.
INTA also collaborated with the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine’s National E-Commerce Monitoring Center to organize a high-level summit in Hangzhou in September for Chinese government officials and local and international brand owners on the sale of counterfeit goods online.
QDid INTA utilize any new tactics to approach the escalating counterfeiting issue there?
A
For one, having a physical
presence in both Singapore and Shanghai has allowed us to further engage brand owners and provide services in a tailored and localized fashion.
The INTA name has also become more visible as a result of an upsurge in activities at both offices. In 2017, compared with 2016, we organized 34 of our own events—up 143 percent; engaged with government officials 48 times through delegations, policy dialogues, and the like—up 85 percent; and participated in 25 third-party events—up 39 percent.
All of this adds value for existing members and draws new ones to the Association. Hopefully, this growth curve will continue in the future.
A
QTurning to INTA’s China office, in Shanghai, what were the most pressing issues that you addressed in 2017?
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