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Indonesia, EU tackle IP in trade talks
08 March 2024
During the 17th Round of Negotiations of the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) Working Group on Intellectual Property (WGIP), Indonesia’s Ministry of Law and Human Rights tackled the issues surrounding the intellectual property system.
According to Marchienda Werdany, head of foreign cooperation at the ministry’s Directorate General of Intellectual Property, the goal of the discussion was to guarantee the EU and Indonesia’s IP protection systems. Werdany emphasized the significance of providing economic players with legal certainty, as reported by ANTARA news agency.
In a statement, she said: “There are still two rounds of negotiations. The Ministry of Trade is targeting that by July 2024, they would have been completed and continued by signing by leaders of each country.”
Werdany stated that the forum’s main focus was on several EU proposals, including those on genetic resources and traditional knowledge, the length of the industrial design protection period and the protection of data related to pharmaceutical products.
Indonesia and the EU collaborate on trade under the IEU-CEPA agreement, which focuses on several IP-related concerns. From February 26 to March 1, 2024, the 17th round of IEU-CEPA discussions took place in Bandung, West Java.
Aldamayo Panadjam Panjaitan, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, countered that Indonesia strengthened its stance throughout the negotiating session. “In this new counter proposal, we observed that the European Union has started to accommodate Indonesia’s interests, and in this negotiation, we want to sharpen Indonesia’s position to be more suitable,” he said.
He voiced hope that the negotiations would lead to an agreement between Indonesia and the EU and that both sides would experience mutually advantageous economic cooperation.
Jerry Sambuaga, the vice minister of trade, said the IEU-CEPA talks are anticipated to conclude in 2024, ahead of the government transition.
- Excel V. Dyquiangco
