IPO acts to elevate patent system standards of RP

Intellectual Property Office Director General Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. is urging patent practitioners to help elevate the standards of the patent system in the country by making use of the various techniques in patent drafting.

"We need to apply higher standards in evaluating and drafting a patent. We may not be aware of it, whether as a patent agent or an examiner, but our work can truly encourage more creativity or innovation or kill it," Cristobal said.

Patent professionals, including examiners from the IPO, recently held a five-day seminar-workshop on Patent Application Drafting and Prosecution. The seminar-workshop aims to educate the participants about the different drafting techniques and prepare them for the Patent Agent Qualifying Examination which will take place early next year.

The seminar-workshop was held by the IPO with the support of the European Commission-ASEAN Cooperation Programme on Intellectual Property Rights II (ECAP II). Cristobal said that reforming the patent system in order to improve it has been among the biggest challenges that the IPO under his administration is facing.

"For the IPO Philippines, patent reform is the litmus test on whether or not we will be true to our vision to foster an innovative/competitive Philippines that values, nurtures, and used intellectual property for national development," Cristobal said.

Cristobal added that the IPO’s reform program has five major components. These include the review of the design of the patent system; using the patent system in public sector research; use of appropriate international patent harmonization strategy; promotion in the use of the system; and its efficient and effective administration.

The IPO is firming up measures to clear the backlog of patent applications and reduce the length of the application process, which is a common complaint among inventor-applicants.

At present, the average period it takes to process an application is from three to five years, including the date the request for application is filed.

In the last two years, around 7, 752 patent applications have been filed with the IPO.

From January to September 2005 alone, 2,269 applications were already received by the office, with foreign applications accounting for the bulk.

Available data from 2003 to July 2005 showed that only 2,551 patent applications were filed by Filipinos.

The IPO’s goal, Cristobal said, is to increase the number of patents for Filipino inventors and innovations to build up the technology base of the country.

Rene Sieron, the representative of the delegation of the European Commission to the Philippines, said that it is through the patent system that the "innovative force of any country can be strengthened and its value realized.

Sieron said that the wealth of any country is no longer determined by the size of its territory and the availability of its resources, but by its innovative capability and the „ability of its people to compete in knowledge society and information economy."

On the other hand, Niclas Morey, director of ECAP II said that a patent system partly provides security to investment and so it is necessary that a patent application must be well crafted and accurate.

The patent application will determine the rights that the inventor will eventually receive. It is not his invention per se which is protected but the features in the patent specification that will determine the scope of the protection, Morey said.

He added that in Europe, before one can be allowed to practice before the European Patent Office, he must be a European patent attorney who has a technical degree and must have worked for two years under the supervision of another European patent attorney.