PNoy: 'I-patrol mo' harapan

Last Friday during the 25th grand reunion of TV Patrol at the Manila Hotel Fiesta Pavilion, everyone was stunned when after the congratulatory message to the host ABS-CBN chairman and CEO Gabby Lopez, President Noynoy Aquino launched a diatribe which was obviously directed against current TV Patrol anchor and former Vice President Noli de Castro.

Fortunately or unfortunately, the former vice president was not in the room during the President’s tirade. Apparently he left the venue just before the President went up on stage and only returned almost half an hour later, with some of those present saying he may have had advance notice about what the President was about to say. Senator Loren Legarda, who was sitting beside me, was herself surprised at the President’s outburst towards the ABS-CBN network, whom many believe as the TV channel most supportive of PNoy.

But then again, the President is known for being straightforward, saying what he thinks without mincing his words “in your face” like what he did to former Chief Justice Renato Corona. With PNoy’s style of launching frontal verbal attacks against anyone in media, the political opposition and other branches of government whom he thinks is being unfair, ABS-CBN top man Gabby Lopez may want to consider signing him up as one of the TV network’s talents after PNoy’s term as president. President Noy can either become a radio or TV commentator (or even a newspaper columnist), with his show aptly titled, “Harap-Harapan.”

IPO-Philippines chief one of  ‘50 Most Influential People’

For the past 10 years, leading global magazine Managing IP has been listing what it considers to be the most influential individuals in the world of intellectual property and this year, it voted in Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPhl) director general Ric Blancaflor as one of its “50 Most Influential People in IP.”

Blancaflor, who used to be an undersecretary for the Department of Defense and the Executive Secretary’s office, tops the roster of individuals for the Asia category and is the only Filipino to have been included in the said list. Among those in the magazine’s most influential list include Google’s Larry Page, Apple’s Jonathan Ive, chief judge Randall Rader of the US patent court and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) director general Francis Gurry, among others. 

While intellectual property can simply be summed up as “ownership,” it is actually a tricky issue that covers more than the theft of patents, trademarks, logos, designs or brand names. It encompasses a wide range of areas and industries from pharmaceuticals, science, technology, the Internet, art, literature, film making and many others. 

The country’s IP office handles a lot of things from registration to resolution of conflicts regarding rights of ownership and copyright of intellectual products or “creations of the mind,” like inventions, practical application of ideas or concepts down to literary and artistic work. Certainly, the IPO chief already has his hands full trying to fight the entry of counterfeit or pirated items – and they’re not just DVDs or designer products – with a lot of help from other concerned agencies like the Optical Media Board, the National Bureau of Investigation and Bureau of Customs.

Madrid Protocol to boost local brands

Still on IP, records show that the Philippines ranked No. 3 in patent protection in Asia and Oceania, and one of the milestones under the leadership of Ric Blancaflor is the country’s accession to the Madrid Protocol, a system that gives owners the opportunity to protect their intellectual property trademark in several countries just by filing one application directly with their respective national or regional IP offices. 

The Philippines recently became the 85th signatory to the Madrid Protocol, and the move has given positive signals of assurance to foreign investors who now see the country as a market that is serious when it comes to protecting intellectual property rights. Many of the country’s major trading partners such as Japan, the United States, Australia, China and the European Union are all members of the Madrid Protocol, and no doubt the IPOPhl move generated more confidence in the local market.

More importantly, the country’s accession can give local brands the necessary push to go global, with the single application giving Filipino brands the opportunity to protect their mark abroad in an efficient, cost-effective manner. A single application will also expedite changes or renewals in trademark ownership – a development that was hailed by trade groups since this will spare their members from the hassle that comes with tedious and repetitive processes that also add to the cost. And whereas international brands that file their trademark in the US would spend about $400 per filing, here in the Philippines, the cost would be less than $100, with trademarks registered under the protocol being automatically registered in the other 85 member countries, Blancaflor had disclosed. 

The filing of trademark applications under the Madrid Protocol started last July 25 with an estimated 200 brand registrations. According to the IPO chief, he expects an even bigger number in the days to come.

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