IPOPHL enforces mandatory mediation for IP cases

MANILA, Philippines — The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is enforcing mandatory mediation for IP cases starting this month for a quicker and more cost effective resolution of cases.

Under Memorandum Circular 008 on the Revised Rules for Mediation, mediation of IP cases will be mandatory for administrative complaints for IP rights violations and/or unfair competition; inter partes cases (IPC); disputes involving technology transfer payments; disputes relating to the terms of a license involving the author’s rights to public performance or other communication of his work; and appeals to the Office of the Director General from the decisions of the Bureau of Copyright and Other Related Rights, the Bureau of Legal Affairs, and the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau.

IPOPHL said the new procedure would take effect starting Oct. 5.

In the past, the IPOPHL applies mandatory referral to mediation to give parties a chance to resolve the dispute out of court first when the Office of the IPOPHL director general or any of the bureaus would receive a case and appeal.

While the referral to mediation is mandatory, going through mediation is not.

Based on data from the Bureau of Legal Affairs, 2,063 IP cases were referred to mediation from 2011 up to August this year and of the total, 1,150 cases went through mediation or an acceptance rate of 55.7 percent.

Meanwhile, the settlement rate is at 42.9 percent or about 1,140 cases.

“Right now the yearly average of cases that accept mediation is 40 to 45 percent of intellectual property disputes. If they don’t accept mediation, they return to litigation and that process is quite long not to mention expensive,” IPOPHL director general Josephine Santiago said.

With litigation, the losing party may appeal the decision of an adjudication officer to the director of the Bureau of Legal Affairs, whose decision in turn is appealable to the director general.

The appeal can even reach the Supreme Court.

Apart from quicker resolution of IP cases, the mandatory mediation would also allow IPOPHL to align its procedures with the court system which wants parties to undergo mediation first before going to the litigation route.

“In mediation, the resolution is arrived at by the parties themselves, so benefits can be mutually received. In litigation, a judge or a hearing officer hears the evidence and makes a decision to favor one or another, and only awards the winner. In mediation, they can make a compromise agreement with mutually beneficial terms. That’s the value here,” Santiago said.