THE Ministry of Commerce held the “soft opening” ceremony for application of trademark registration online yesterday.

Union Minister Dr Than Myint discussed the need to comply with international standards in practising the copyright system. The Union Minister added that the Central Committee on Intellectual Property (CCIP) is chaired by Vice President U Henry Van Thio and the Union Minister for Commerce is the Vice-Chair of the committee. The committee was formed by Union Government’s Order 18/2010, 21/2020 and 31/2020.

The Union Minister said that the existing first user privilege system will be changed into the first applicant privilege system to implement the copyright law and the Ministry has issued Order 63/2020 dated 28 August 2020 in order to facilitate the transition. According to the order, the application for trademark registration is pre-accepted starting from 1 October.

He remarked that the first phase of initial adoption will use the WIPO file system of the World Copyright Organization (WIPO) which is expected to make the registration easier to do business in COVID-19 crisis. In the second phase, the in-person application will also be accepted.

The Union Minister added that the ministry is implementing the process of approving fees, rules and regulations and application forms required for the effective use of the copyright law and the trademark registration will be officially started right after the enactment of the law; and the implementation of the law can protect the trademarks effectively and provide fair competition, encourage creativity and it will increase trade and foreign investment.

Adopting copyright laws in Myanmar was supported by WIPO, JICA, JPO and USAID.

The Union Minister also expressed thanks to these partner organizations and confirmed to coordinate with them.

Union Minister for Education Dr Myo Thein Gyi explained that the ministry took steps to draft the copyright law and approved the law in mid-2019 and the workshops done in the Universities and SMEs and the sending delegates to the regional and international conferences, meetings and trainings.

He also thanked both international and national organizations for the cooperation by providing technical and legal assistance including the resources needed to develop the copyright system in Myanmar and requested them to continue the cooperation.

Deputy Director-General for the Intellectual Property Department Dr Moe Moe Thwe introduced the website of the department, www.ipd.gov.mm and explained the WIPO file system in accepting the applications and Director Dr Seint Thandar Tun explained the process of the trademark registration and answered the questions of the attendees.

MNA

(Translated by Ei Phyu Phyu Aung)

PHOTO: MNA

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