The 64th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) was held via Videoconference on 2-3 August 2021. The meeting was chaired for the first time by Atty. Rowel S. Barba, Director General, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) since the Philippines took over chairmanship from Viet Nam in March 2021.

The two-day Meeting discussed the progress of the 2021 annual priorities, and discussed the implementation strategy for the completion of the remaining deliverables under the IPR Action Plan for the upcoming years of 2021-2025, and also noted the outcomes of the recently concluded 11th Trademarks Task Force Meeting. The AWGIPC also discussed the possibility of adopting a new IP Agreement and agreed to request the respective Chairs of the Task Forces (ASPEC, ANIEE and TMTF) to review their respective Terms of References (ToRs) during their next respective Task Force Meeting.

There were also consultation sessions with dialogue partners from the ASEAN IP Association (AIPA), U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Patent Office (EPO), WIPO ASPAC Bureau, and WIPO Business Solutions Division.  A Heads Meeting was held on the sidelines, namely the 11th ASEAN - Japan Patent Office (JPO) Heads Meeting, led by its new Commissioner Mr. Kiyoshi Mori.

The 65th AWGIPC Meeting will be held at the end of November 2021 via video conference.