Anti-counterfeiting and piracy summit marks IPR week

MANILA, Philippines - The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), being the government agency primarily mandated to administer the intellectual property system in the country, will celebrate the annual Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Week through the conduct of the 1st Philippine Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit to be held Oct. 24 to 28 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

The summit will be attended by members of the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) and heads and key enforcement officer of other agencies tasked to address counterfeiting and piracy in the country. Local government units who are staunch supporters of anti-counterfeiting and piracy will take part in the celebration. Representatives of organizations as well as ambassadors of other countries will also be in attendance in the summit.

The week-long celebration primarily seeks to promote and heighten public awareness of how counterfeiting and piracy harm the economy, public welfare, health and safety. This is to solicit cooperation from public and private stakeholders to combat counterfeiting and piracy operations.

The IPOPHL also aims to gather key government officials to seek their commitment in the implementation of the 2012-2016 PHL Action Plan on IPR Protection and Enforcement to achieve a more effective level of coordinated national action to protect and enforce IPR. The action plan was crafted together with the members of the NCIPR.

The program of the summit is focused on topics related to efficient and effective protection and enforcement of IPR such as: (i) Philippine approach to IPR enforcement; (ii) role of LGUs in the campaign against counterfeiting and piracy; and (iii) effective prosecution of IPR violation cases.

The World Intellectual Property Organization was also tapped to conduct a seminar on the risks, health and safety concerns of counterfeit and pirated items. Also incorporated in the program of the summit is the annual seminar on IPR business partnership workshop on effective border control measures.

INTA anti-counterfeiting committee roundtable discussion will also be conducted to provide a forum to share know-how, strategies and insights to combat counterfeiting and piracy.