Law on Intellectual Property necessary

           To implement the policy of the Party and Government on widening cooperation with the world community in the intellectual property issue, the Lao PDR became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Convention in January 1995 and the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property in October 1998. Since the Lao PDR became a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the intellectual property cooperation has expanded. Today, the Lao PDR is preparing for entering into the Word Trade Organisation (WTO) and one of its principles is trade agreement, which relates to the protection of intellectual property. To implement the obligations of the Lao PDR, it is needed to adopt the intellectual property law.

            Previously, the Lao PDR issued many statutes and regulations relating to the intellectual property. In 2003 the National Assembly adopted the amended Constitution of the Lao PDR. Article 24 of this constitution stipulates: “The State attends to promoting knowledge and invention in scientific and technological research and application, [and to] protecting intellectual property while building up a community of scientists to promote industrialisation and modernisation. “ In 1995 the Prime Minister issued the Decree on Trademarks, which is a component of the intellectual property and other decrees in the following years. Besides the decrees, a Point 7 of the Article 12 “Rights, Benefits and Obligations of Foreign Investors” of the amended Law on the Promotion of Investment adopted in 2004 stipulates: “To receive protection of their intellectual property, which has been registered with the relevant authority in the Lao PDR.”  A point 10 of the Article 76 of the Customs Law “Rights of Customs Officers” states: “To inspect (and) seize goods, which are considered to violate intellectual property (rights) and conventions on the prohibition of the sale and purchase of varieties of plants and endangered wild animals in accordance with laws and regulations.”

            Although the Lao PDR has many statutes and regulations relating to intellectual property, they are not comprehensive in terms of intellectual property. Therefore, the draft Law on Intellectual Property was formulated and is being discussed in the fourth ordinary session of the National Assembly (sixth legislature). This draft law is based on the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property and Rome Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, which relate to the intellectual property rights of the WTO. The Lao PDR becomes a party to the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property and will be a party to other conventions after the Law on Intellectual Property is adopted.

            Consisting of 11 Parts and 135 Articles, the draft Law on Intellectual Property was formulated to promote creativity, composition and protection of intellectual property to ensure benefits for intellectual property owners and benefits of the society. It also aims to promote scientific and technology research and development, technology transfer in the country and abroad, trade and investment and build competitiveness for the national economy in the globalization age. This is to move the country toward industrialization and modernization.  

The law is to attract foreign investment with high-level technology and help the Lao PDR be a centre of human resources development with the aim of seeking new markets and integrating into the region and the world.