The protection of intellectual property rights and their enforcement is a foundational enabler for innovation, promoting foreign trade and investment as well as boosting economic development for residents across Asia-Pacific and beyond.
In recognition of the importance of Intellectual Property Rights, they were featured in the 1995 Osaka Action Agenda — APEC's strategic roadmap for achieving free and open trade and investment in the region.
In 1996, the Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) established an Intellectual Property Rights Get-Together (IPR-GT). The aim was to ensure the adequate and effective protection of Intellectual Property Rights in the Asia-Pacific region. Asia-Pacific leaders understand that the effective protection of IP is essential to encourage innovation and job creation, as it converts innovative ideas, imaginative designs and other intangible assets into business assets. In 1997, the CTI made the IPR-GT an official APEC group with explicit terms of reference and renamed it the Intellectual Property Rights Experts' Group (IPEG).
Topics that IPEG’s work engages with include:
- Trademark links
- Deepening the dialogue on intellectual property (IP) policy
- Emerging technologies, such as AI, digital technology and blockchain
- Patent grace periods
- International IP dispute resolution
- IP enforcement
- IP commercialization & securitization of IP assets
- Interoperability
In 2025-2026, IPEG’s key focus areas are:
1. Strengthening Trade and Investment through IP
2. Driving Innovation through IP
3. Fostering Prosperity through IP
Last page update: March 2026
Contacts
|
María Gloria Riethmuller (Ms) Chair
Legal Advisor |
Anna BUTNOR (Ms) Program Director |
Current Activities
Meetings
IPEG holds its regular plenary meetings twice a year. Its 62nd Plenary took place in Guangzhou, China on 5-6 February 2026.
IPEG will meet next time in Dalian in August 2026.
Latest IPEG Publications
- Using Emerging Technologies in IP Offices’ Workflows | APEC (2025)
- Guidebook on Digital Enforcement to Improve Fight Trademark Counterfeiting | APEC (2025)
- Women and Patents: Towards Gender Parity in APEC | APEC (2023)
- Patent Linkage System for Intellectual Property Rights and Public Health Harmonisation | APEC (2023)
- A Study on the Harmonization of the IP Financial System | APEC (2023)
- Recovering from COVID-19: Successful Practices among APEC Economies on the Use of IP as a Collective Tool to Foster and Promote Economic Development and Recovery of Vulnerable Populations and MSMEs | APEC (2023)