Intellectual property rights and enterprise development: Some policy issues and options in ASEAN

Intellectual property (IP) is a form of knowledge or intellectual activity embodied in various ways in the production and marketing of goods and services of an industrial, scientific, literary or artistic nature. At the micro level IP has been a significant source of growth and a major driver of competitive strategies virtually across the globe. This paper analyses the divergence between enterprise development and IP creation in the ASEAN region. The paper highlights the fact that most IP assets, particularly patents, are not formally registered in the ASEAN group of countries. This is due to the complexity and high transaction costs of registering IP assets. The paper indicates the strong need for more research into the nature and characteristics of technological progress at the enterprise level and how best to adapt formal IP registration systems so that enterprises can be encouraged to register their technological innovations and derive benefit from them.