The report has been commissioned by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries (ITTLLDC).
The main purpose of this report is to analyze the current situations of the policy and regulatory frameworks, which will be used as foundational materials for fostering the markets of intellectual property and copyright patents on digital technology, products, and services in Mongolia.
The assessment has been conducted on policy and regulatory framework related to information and communications technology and intellectual property in Mongolia through literature review and interviews as well as discussion with the Mongolia experts of the Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia and business sectors as well as representatives of the Mongolian Institute of the Certified Appraisers.
The Digital Nation Program initiated by the Government of Mongolia includes E-Mongolia applications; approval of 5 new laws and related regulations; establishment of the Ministry of Digital Development and Communications (MDDC) from 1 January 2022; and other initiatives which have laid grounds for advancing digital transformation in Mongolia. To accelerate Mongolia’s digital transformation, there is a need for “new development paradigms, policy, and regulatory frameworks in a more flexible, adaptive, and corroborative way”. 1 There are over 100 software development companies in Mongolia that should be encouraged and protected properly, which have produced valuable software for promoting almost all sectors of Mongolia and for supporting citizens, government organizations, and businesses.
One of the main leading offices is the Intellectual Property Office of Mongolia (IPOM), whose primary mission is to protect intellectual property by improving industry laws, implementing state policies on intellectual property protection, legally securing intellectual property, protecting the legal rights and interests of their authors and copyright holders, and providing legal advice and services in this regard.
Mongolia approved four major Intellectual propertyrelated laws (Law on intellectual property, Law on patents, Law on copyright, and Law on trademarks and geographical indications) in 2020-2021. They identify software and database as intellectual property protected by the Law on copyright. A number of organizations are involved in the intellectual property application, registration, verification, and granting process, including the Association of Mongolian intellectual property agents, the Mongolian Institute of Certified Appraisers, Mongolian Intellectual Property Protection Association.