| Azaraimy HH |
THE Energy and Industry Department’s Brunei Intellectual Property Office (BruIPO) held a special forum at the Design and Technology Building in Anggerek Desa yesterday, highlighting the role of local women in government, society and economy.
Among the panellists were Attorney General Datin Seri Paduka Hajah Hayati binti Pehin Orang Kaya Shahbandar Dato Seri Paduka Haji Mohd Salleh; YB Siti Rozaimeriyanty binti Dato Seri Laila Jasa Haji Abdul Rahman, Legislative Council (LegCo) member; Professor Dr Hajah Zohrah binti Haji Sulaiman, the Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB); and Shahrinah binti Yusof Khan, the Deputy Registrar and Head of the BruIPO.
The discussion was moderated by Quratul-Ain Bandial.
Also in attendance was Hajah Tutiaty binti Haji Abdul Wahab, the Deputy Permanent Secretary (Management, Cooperatives and Industry) at the Energy and Industry Department.
Held to mark World Intellectual Property Day (WIPD) 2018, under the theme ‘Powering Change: Women in Innovation and Creativity’, the panel discussion was aimed at stimulating interactive conversation, while at the same time acknowledging the contributions of local women through their innovation and creativity.
The panel discussion was followed by an exhibition of products and services by Currypuff Factory, Enya Bijoux, Little Bosses IQdemy, NHS Creations, Shine Cycle, Tarbiyyah Global and Udra, which are all managed by women and have been successfully registered as patents or trademarks.
The WIPD 2018 celebration continued into the afternoon with talks on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Enforcement, which were facilitated by Louis Chan, a Senior Legal Counsel from the Procter & Gamble Asia; and Nur al-Ain binti Dr Haji Abdullah, the Deputy Senior Counsel from the Attorney General’s Chambers.
The talks attracted more than 50 participants from government departments and enforcement agencies, business enterprises, institutions of higher learning, and members of the public.
The past few years have demonstrated Brunei Darussalam’s commitment towards the promotion and protection of intellectual property. The most significant development is that Brunei Darussalam has been kept off the United States Trade Representative (USTR)’s Special 301 Watch List since 2013, which owes largely to the positive developments in the IP infra-structure and concerted efforts among all relevant ministries and agencies.
BruIPO will provide free consultation to the public till April 28 under its ‘IP-Consult’ initiative to encourage more local companies to protect their ‘brand’ adequately and raise awareness on the benefits and protection of trademark as a tool for business growth and competitiveness.
In 2017, 126 out of the 1,609 trademark applications received by the BruIPO came from local applicants, which is a significant increase from 79 applications in 2016.
BruIPO hopes to continue the positive trend for 2018. Local businesses can also benefit from a cost-effective platform for trademark protection in multiple jurisdictions abroad, via the Madrid Protocol, which was implemented on January 6, 2017.
For further information on the registration of services under the BruIPO, visit the Help Desk located at the DARe (Darussalam Enterprise) Business Support Centre (BSC), on Level 1 of the Design and Technology Building in Anggerek Desa.
The BrulPO can also be contacted at 238 0965/6, or via email at enquiries@bruipo.gov.bn. At the same time, forms and leaflets can be downloaded from its website at www.bruipo.gov.bn.
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