EC-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Cooperation Program (ECAP II)

Within the framework of the EC-ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Cooperation Program (ECAP II), administered by the European Patent Office, seven Asian scholars from Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, and Vietname joined the MIPLC LL.M. program for the winter semester 2004/05.

These seven scholars, all of whom teach IP in their home countries, came to Europe for a six-month period, first taking part in the courses at MIPLC during the winter term, and then continuing their visit to Europe with two months at the Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute in London.

Besides deepening their own knowledge of IP, learning about the European and U.S. conception of intellectual property rights, and being exposed to a variety of teaching styles, the ECAP II students had two collective tasks. The first task was the drafting of reports on the status of IP teaching in their respective home countries, to be consolidated into a comprehensive survey. The second was the preparation of a plan for an IP curriculum, intended to serve as a template for postgraduate IP programs in the ASEAN countries.

The work on the common IP curriculum continued after the scholars' return to their home countries, and the results were presented at the EU-ASEAN Colloquium on a Common Postgraduate IP Curriculum and Syllabi Template for ASEAN Countries in Singapur on August 17-18, 2005.