Discussions on intellectual property rights for SME development took place in Yangon to share knowledge on IP laws, especially in trademark and design

A discussion on Intellectual Property Rights for SME development took place in Yangon on Sunday.

The forum on Trademark and Design was organized by the Intellectual Property Proprietors’ Association, Myanmar, IPPAM, with the support of USAID. It aims to share knowledge on IP laws, especially Trademark and design issues.

The Intellectual Property Bill was drawn in 2013 and covers Trademark, Patent, Industrial Design and Copyright.  IPPAM stresses the importance of the law.

President, Intellectual Property Proprietors’ Association, Myanmar, Kyaw Kyaw Win said “Once the bill is approved by the People’s parliament and signed by the President, we will work on rules and regulations to apply for. Trademarks are very important for the growth of the country’s GDP and businesses. I think there are 60,000 trademarks registered in our country. Once we have rules and regulations, we can produce and register the geographical identity of the brand, like Sein Talone Mango, Ywar Ngan Coffee, Bagan lacquer ware.”

Vice President, Intellectual Property Proprietors’ Association, Myanmar, Swe Zin Htike said “Today’s discussion is very important. Industry players and experts would talk about IP law especially on Trademark and design. We do have programs and campaign to raise awareness about IP laws and its role. Everyone has their own rights and we need to learn how to protect it. Local businesses especially SMEs also need to learn it.”

Industry players and members of law firms show their support for the Intellectual Property law.

Secretary (1), Myanmar Lawyers’ Network, Aye Min said “The law needs to be enacted as soon as possible as we’re encountering some difficulties and challenges in the industry like waste of the time and financial loss. Some happen due to lack of knowledge on this kind of issues. We will welcome the law. It’s really great to have such kind of discussion together with industry players, lawyers and experts.”

About 200 attendees including SMEs entrepreneurs, experts and lawyers joined this 1-day forum.

(Myanmar International TV Channel: http://www.myanmarinternationaltv.com/news/efforts-sme-forum-trademark-and-design )

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