The 18th Asia Intellectual Property Symposium was held on November 27, 2024, at the Nikkei Conference Room in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The event was organized by Nikkei Inc. and co-hosted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI), the Anti-Counterfeiting Association (ACA), and CODA. The symposium, launched in 1998, focuses on promoting the protection of intellectual property and the elimination of counterfeit products. This year marked its 18th installment.
The program of the day began with opening remarks by Mr. Akira Amari, Advisor to the Research Commission on Intellectual Property Strategy of the Liberal Democratic Party. In his speech, he addressed the need to reboot Japan’s new Cool Japan strategy to promote the overseas expansion of Japanese content. He emphasized the importance of public-private collaboration, international partnerships, and global enforcement in combating piracy, and highlighted the necessity of advancing policies to establish a sustainable ecosystem for content creation.
This was followed by a presentation on efforts by relevant government agencies. Ms. Hoshie Shinozaki, Intellectual Property Protection Officer attached to the Director for Economic Crimes Investigation at the National Police Agency, delivered a lecture titled “Current Status of Crackdowns on Intellectual Property Rights Infringements.” She provided an overview of the current state of enforcement against intellectual property rights infringements, illustrating the discussion with concrete examples, and highlighted the challenges derived from these cases.
Next, Mr. Norihiko Seki, Director of the Culture & Creative Industries Division at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, gave a lecture titled “Cool Japan Strategy in the Digital Era.” He discussed the current state of policies aimed at promoting the overseas expansion of Japanese content and shared insights into efforts to address challenges related to piracy and the promotion of content distribution abroad.
Next, a discussion titled “The Transforming Content Industry Through the COVID Era” was held between Mr. Tetsuo Maeda (attorney, Somei, Maeda & Nakagawa Law Offices) and Takero Goto (ACA Secretary General / CODA Representative Director).
First, Takero Goto presented on the post-pandemic environment surrounding Japanese content. He discussed CODA’s international enforcement project (CBEP), implemented with the support of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. Topics included countermeasures against piracy websites, examples of successful crackdowns that overcame various challenges, and the economic effects achieved through CBEP’s efforts. Following this, Mr. Tetsuo Maeda joined the discussion to cover a wide range of topics. These included identifying piracy website operators, criminal crackdowns under CBEP, and measures and initiatives involving collaboration with various countries.
Next, Mr. Felix Avellan (Operations Coordinator pro tempore, IP Crime and Digital Piracy Unit, INTERPOL) and Mr. Ferhat Cakmak (Criminal Intelligence Officer, INTERPOL), invited from France and Singapore respectively, delivered a lecture titled “Cybercrime in the Intellectual Property Field and International Cooperation.”
Mr. Felix Avellan spoke about INTERPOL’s role in coordinating law enforcement efforts among its 196 member countries to combat international crime. He introduced tools for managing international crime databases and emphasized the necessity of international collaboration to tackle global crimes. Mr. Ferhat Cakmak discussed the I-SOP (Interpol Stop Online Piracy) project, which focuses on combating online copyright infringement. This project, supported by the South Korean government, was presented alongside specific case studies of successful crackdowns led by INTERPOL’s Online Copyright Infringement Unit.
Finally, under the theme “Roadmap to Reviving a Nation Built on Intellectual Property,” presentations were delivered by Ms. Grace Kim (Senior Vice President, FirstBrave) and Mr. Koji Hihashi (Chief Manager, Intellectual Property Administration, Legal Department, Corporate Management Group, TOHO) on their respective companies’ initiatives for intellectual property protection.
This was followed by a panel discussion joined by Mr. Tetsuo Maeda and Takero Goto. The discussion reflected on the past year’s efforts in intellectual property protection and anti-piracy measures. Topics included shifts in awareness of intellectual property protection in countries where infringement occurs, balancing content distribution and protection in the IP business, trends in legal debates on AI and content, and the future outlook for Japan as it aims to reinvigorate itself as a nation built on intellectual property.
■ The 18th Asian Intellectual Property Rights Symposium Archived Videos
https://channel.nikkei.co.jp/chitekizaisanken2024/
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About CODA
CODA (Content Overseas Distribution Association) was established in 2002 at the call of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Agency for Cultural Affairs to promote the overseas development of Japanese content and take anti-piracy measures. Japan’s proud content, including music, movies, anime, broadcast programs, video games, and publishing, plays an important role in enhancing the nation’s international presence and economic growth. As digital technology becomes more widespread, it is even more significant to protect Japan’s content from increasingly artful copyright infringement and promote the content industry’s development. CODA contributes to the deterrence and detection of online and other piracy, by sharing knowledge with relevant government agencies, organizations, and companies in Japan and abroad, to engage in direct and indirect anti-piracy measures, as well as public relations activities. Visit https://coda-cj.jp/en/activity/ for more information on CODA’s projects.