RP urged to nail more IPR violators

The United States wants the Philippines to prosecute and convict more intellectual property rights (IPR) violators as part of the country’s commitment to practice and uphold IPR.

This was relayed to Intellectual Property Office (IPO) director general Adrian Cristobal Jr. by David A. Katz, director of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR). Katz handles Southeast Asian and Pacific affairs.

According to Cristobal, Katz conveyed the USTR’s satisfaction with the Philippine government’s commitment to adhere to global IPR policies and enforcement.

However, Cristobal said the US trade official expressed the need for more prosecutions and convictions.

IPR convictions last year numbered only five, although this was an improvement from only one conviction in 2004.

Cristobal reiterated his call for the creation of special IPR and Copyright courts to handle specialized IPR and copyright cases.

The two also touched on the Philippines’ possible removal from the USTR’s Special 301 Watchlist and the recent completion of an out-of-cycle review of the Philippines IPR compliance.

Cristobal expressed optimism that the United States may finally downgrade the Philippines from special priority watchlist to just ordinary watchlist.

Cristobal said an "imminent" announcement is expected from the USTR.

The out-of-cycle review conducted last month is already a positive signal since the USTR annually conducts a review either in March or in April, he said.

There has been a push from various groups to appeal the country’s status under the USTR watchlist.

Cristobal clarified that in spite of the out-of-cycle review, the Philippines would still undergo the annual review in March or April.

The US Patent and Trademark Office is also offering next month a training course in Thailand for at least seven Filipino judges on IPR and copyright prosecution.

The government, furthermore, continues to engage in IPR education and training in cooperation with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the Sweden Patent and Registration Office, the Swedish government and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

The education and training course includes participants from China, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Zambia, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, Paraguay, Papua New Guinea, Gambia, Nepal, Malawi, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Syria, Kenya, Nigeria and Iran.

The USTR Special 301 report identifies, according to levels, countries that deny adequate and effective IPR protection. "Priority Foreign Country" is the highest level designated to a country that does not address its piracy problems and is subject to US trade sanctions.

Countries in the "Priority Watchlist" are those that do not provide adequate IPR enforcement, while countries in the "WatchList" are those that merit bilateral attention to address IPR concerns.

For the past four consecutive years, the Philippines has been classified under the Priority Watchlist.