IP registration pulled down by rampant rights infringement

MANILA, Philippines — The proliferation of intellectual property rights infringement with the advent of digitalization has dampened the number of intellectual property registrations in the country over the past five years.

Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) director general Josephine Santiago said the agency recorded a five-year decline in the number of intellectual property registration amid the proliferation of intellectual property rights violations.

For instance, Santiago said the number of patent grants for resident applicants slid to a mere 20 in 2016 the lowest since 2013, despite having some 260 patent applications that year.

“This may mean that lesser Filipino inventors are inspired to conceive pioneering works which would pass the standards set by the law for protection. We are alarmed by this situation, not only because rampant violations fend off potential discoveries but also because intellectual property infringement damages the national economy,” she said.

Santiago said globalization and digitization have changed the rules on international development and pose new and actual challenges to local intellectual property systems.

Citing a 2017 study, Santiago said it was revealed that trademark-intensive industries contributed 15 percent to overall employment and 17 percent to the gross domestic product directly and 41 percent indirectly.

A 2014 World Intellectual Property Organization-commissioned study on copyright-based industries, meanwhile, showed their economic contribution amounted to 7.34 percent of GDP, and has a significant potential for employment generation at 14.14 percent of total employment.

“This goes to show that, undoubtedly, intellectual property is a vital factor in economic growth,” Santiago said.

Santiago said the IPOPHL is one with the Malacañang’s socio-economic agenda in strengthening science and technology investments and championing the arts.

In response to the President’s policy reforms that target vulnerable population, the IPOPHL, together with many enforcement agencies, has intensified its efforts to implement the mandate of the intellectual property law.