Counterfeiting and piracy are major concerns for U.S. companies in Southeast Asia*. Illegal reproduction of DVDs, software, books, and pharmaceuticals and their illegal sale is commonplace. Cable and signal theft are widespread; illegal camcording and online piracy are rampant. The issuance of compulsory licenses for patented pharmaceuticals and the institutional weakening of intellectual property rights are major challenges for U.S. companies. Many of these countries lack strong enforcement agencies and have routinely shown up on the USTR’s Special 301 Report. Most Southeast Asian countries also lack serious deterrent mechanisms to dissuade IP infringers from continuing their illegal activities.

The GIPC’s programs in Southeast Asia stress the importance of IP protection by engaging host country governments, monitoring and commenting on new IP laws and regulations, implementing public awareness activities, and fostering the growth of local IP organizations.  The GIPC discourages the issuance of compulsory licenses in Southeast Asia and encourages strong IP protection and innovation.   While the GIPC works to ensure IP protection in all of Southeast Asia, its program focuses heavily on Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

The GIPC’s activities in 2009 have centered on IP seminars for journalists in the region, organized in cooperation with local IP regulating bodies. These seminars have focused on helping journalists better understand the role that IP protection plays in helping create a domestic creative economy. Speakers have included local IP officials and representatives of companies that have benefitted from IP protection or have been hurt by the lack of it. With better understanding of the importance of IP in building a strong local economy, the GIPC hopes that reporting by journalists will promote increased IP protection in the economies of the region.

*Southeast Asia refers to Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.