IPOPHL GRANTS GUIMARAS’ MANGO COLLECTIVE TRADEMARK REGISTRATION

IPOPHL Bureau of Trademarks Director Leny B. Raz (standing on left beside the GI Seal) with Guimaras Provincial Officials and the GMGPDC Officers.

The Director of the Bureau of Trademarks, Atty. Leny B. Raz presented the Certificate of Registration of the Collective Trademark to the Province of Guimaras and the Guimaras Mango Growers and Producers Development Cooperative (GMGPDC) during the inauguration and opening ceremonies of the 25^th Manggahan Festival last May 11, 2017 at Jordan, Guimaras.

 The Unveiling of the Guimaras Quality Seal was graced by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) OIC Regional Director Rebecca M. Rascon, Guimaras Governor Samuel T. Gumarin, M.D., Guimaras Vice Governor John Edward Gando, Intellectual Property Satellite Office (IPSO) - Iloilo Field Operations Specialist Marianne Tajanlangit-Bebit and various Guimaras provincial officials and staff.

GMGPDC, represented by its Chairperson, Mrs. Rosario Griesser sought the registration of this quality mark in order to protect the specific qualities and reputation of Guimaras mangoes.

The cooperative’s officers and members together with the Provincial Economic Development Office chaired by Miss Elena V. Quezon and the Provincial Office of Agricultural Services as supervised by Mr. Ronnie Morante, have undergone various training and seminars under IPOPHLand came up with the Code of Practice that will guide the members in maintaining the excellent quality of the mangoes produced in the province. It will also serve as their standard of practice in safeguarding its reputation of having the sweetest and excellent export-quality fresh mangoes in the country. 

For the past years, IPOPHL certified various Geographical Indications: the Bonoan Bangus in Pangasinan, the T'nalak of Lake Sebu in South Cotabato, the Lumban Barong Tagalog in Quezon Province, the Davao Pomelo, the Batangas Barako Coffee, the Kalinga Coffee, the Mindoro Calamansi,  and the Cebu Dried Mangoes.  The IPOPHL continues assistance and  IP capacity building seminars for certifications of Geographical Indications as a Collective Mark that aims sustainable historical economic contribution and at the same time to protect the identity of each product.

Visit www.ipophil.gov.ph for more details about Geographical Indications and Collective Marks.

words:  Marianne Tajanlangit-Bebit, IPSO Ilo-Ilo

IPOPHL L.E.A.P. I.P. Roadshow Kicks Off in Makati and Manila Government Offices

Learn.. be Empowered.. Adopt.. and Profit from Intellectual Property (L.E.A.P. I.P.) is the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) sustainable program to provide information and creating awareness about the benefits and advantages of owning and protecting an invention Patent, a brand/Trademark, or an original literary work Copyright.

The IPOPHL recently kicked off its first leg of the L.E.A.P. I.P. Roadshow for the Local Government Units (LGU), benefitting more than a hundred government employees from the Makati and Manila City Offices for knowledge advancement about Intellectual Property Rights. IPOPHL collaborated with the cities’ Office of the Mayors, Business Permits and Licensing offices (BPLO) together with the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) Officials to make the activity possible last 21-22 November 2016.  The L.E.A.P.I.P. for LGU Roadshow is aimed to assist the employees on the implementation of their IP Ordinance through information dissemination, protection, and enforcement. IPOPHL Deputy Director General Allan B. Gepty gave the opening remarks and with selected IPOPHL Speakers, provided the participants with insights and overview of the IP System in the Philippines, its economic contribution, and the major role of the LGUs in the promotion, protection, and enforcement of IP rights.

The Makati City Office of the Mayor Senior Advisor Atty. Violeta Somera-Seva, BPLO Head Atty. Mirabert Q. Pagente, and SP City Secretary Atty. Dindo R. Cervantes enjoined the Makati City employees for a whole day IP seminar.  On the other hand, Manila City Councilor Joel M. Par and Licensing Office Chief John Sangalang made the whole day seminar actively participated by the License Examiners as well as the Business Permit Front liners under the directorship of Atty. Fortune O. Mayuga. 

The IPOPHL is scheduled to hold its next legs of the roadshow in other LGUs within Metro Manila before the yearend while other regions nationwide will follow suit in 2018.  For more information about other L.E.A.P. I.P. seminars, visit www.ipophil.gov.ph.

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IPOPHL Launches New Electronic Filing System

IPOPHL Launches New Electronic Filing System

       

Stakeholders tried out filing online, standing at back portion

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) launched its new electronic filing system known as the IPOPHL TM eFile as part of the World IP Day Celebrations, which started on 23 April, with the Celebration of the World Book and Copyright Day. 

Director Leny B. Raz

The IPOPHL eTMfile allows the online filing of new trademark applications 24/7 and is linked to three different payment channels. With IPOPHL eTMfile, applicants and IP agents need not go to the IPOPHL to file trademark applications.   

IPOPHL eTMfile is one of the new initiatives of Director General Josephine Rima-Santiago, who assumed the top IPOPHL post less than six months ago, to modernize the eServices for use by IPOPHL stakeholders. 

Director General Josephine R. Santiago

According to Director General Santiago, “the IPOPHL began enhancing its IT systems with the deployment of the Industrial Property Automation System (IPAS) as the new back office system for patents and trademarks in 2012.  Now, we are focusing on tools that will modernize electronic transactions with the IPOPHL, starting with the new IPOPHL eTMfile.”

The IPOPHL eTMfile is linked to two other tools—ASEAN TMclass, which makes the classification of goods and services much easier, and National IPOPHL TMview, allowing the generation of preliminary search reports that applicants may use as reference prior to filing.  IPOPHL eTMfile also has another new feature, which makes possible the submission of documents, such as the special power of attorney, request for priority examination, and declaration of actual use, together with the online application. 

IPOPHL eTMfile is a system developed in collaboration with EU-ASEAN Project on IP Rights (ECAP III Phase II), a project being administered by the EU Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

As lead for both information technology and trademarks under the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC), the IPOPHL has been collaborating closely with the ECAP III Project for the adaptation of IT tools that could be used not only by the Philippines, but also by other ASEAN IP Offices. 

Director General Santiago said further, “the IPOPHL eTMfile is the first of two eServices tools that we are deploying this semester.  Next in the pipeline is the IPOPHL eDOCfile, an advanced electronic filing system for practically all types of trademark documents, including responses, powers of attorney, various types of declarations, assignments, and enables both the IPOPHL and the applicant to digitally sign documents submitted to the Office.”The prototype of the IPOPHL eDOCfile was also presented to stakeholders after the eTMfile launch.

The IPOPHL is the first ASEAN Office to deploy eTMfile and is also expected to be the first to go on production with the eDOCfile in June.

The IPOPHL eTMfile is accessible to all trademark stakeholders beginning today. Log on to: http://121.58.254.39:8080/sp-ui-tmefiling/wizard.htm?execution=e1s1

words:  IPOPHL

3rd IP Youth Camp in Cebu for the Young IP Advocates

IPOPHL Holds IP Youth Camp In Time For APEC Cebu Hosting 

19 August 2015, Cebu City, Philippines

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) brings the 3^rd Intellectual Property (IP) Youth Camp to Cebu City in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation IP Rights Experts’ Group (APEC-IPEG) meeting from 22 -23 August 2015.

This is the first time that the IP Youth Camp is held outside of Metro Manila and with the majority of the participants coming from science and technology and private secondary schools in the Cebu province. The IPOPHL will also fly select alumni from the previous IP Youth Camps in Metro Manila to Cebu to allow the students to meet, collaborate and share experiences.

The IP Youth Advocates Program IPOPHL began in 2013 with the aim of enabling secondary school students understand the role of IP in nation-building. From the  initial roster of three schools in 2013, the number of participating schools has expanded to seven in Metro Manila alone, producing a total of 25 students in 2014 who are now called IPOPHL’s Young IP Advocates (YIPA) in their respective schools.

“By bringing the IPOPHL’s IP Youth Advocates program to Cebu in time for APEC-IPEG, we are not only expanding the reach of the program, but also sharing one of our most successful IP awareness and education initiatives to our partner APEC economies. The program taps into the creativeness and innovativeness of our youths. Our vision is to make this as an instrument for harnessing creativity, innovation and respect for IP rights among our young people who are the future of our country,” said Atty. Allan B. Gepty, Deputy Director General/Officer-In-Charge of IPOPHL and head of the Philippine APEC-IPEG delegation.

The two-day IP Youth Camp, which starts today, will carry out various exciting activities to demystify IP and will highlight the importance of IP in their daily lives and emphasize the value of respect for IP. Out of the learning experiences, the participants will be directed to come up with a concrete plan of action on how they can share the learnings to their schoolmates. 

After the Youth Camp, the Cebu participants will be presented officially as IP Advocates. They will have the opportunity to take their oath as Young IP Advocates before the APEC-IPEG delegates on 22 August.

IP education and awareness for the youth is one of the priority initiatives of the Philippines at APEC. 

words:  Emmelina Masanque, IPOPHL IDTD

10th International Exhibition for Young Inventors

copyright July 2014, IPOPHIL DITTB

Philippines lifted from US Trade Representative IP watch list*

PHL stricken off intellectual-property ‘watch list’ of US Trade Representative

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Category: Top News

29 Apr 2014

Written by Catherine N. Pillas

The Philippines has been removed from the Special 301 Watch List of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) after almost two decades of being on it, a development that could facilitate the country’s membership in the US-initiated Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). 

With this development, the Philippines no longer faces threats of trade sanctions that Washington is imposing on economies with weak intellectual-property (IP) regime.

The USTR’s Special 301 Report is an annual unilateral evaluation report on various countries’ enforcement and observance of IP laws. 

“In recent years, the government has enacted a series of significant legislative and regulatory reforms to enhance the protection and enforcement of IP in the Philippines. Philippines authorities have also made laudable civil and administrative enforcement gains. Although significant challenges remain, the commitment of Philippines authorities and the results achieved merit this change in status,” according to a statement from the USTR. 

Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo said the development was “a recognition of the positive work the Philippines has done on intellectual property and is one of the string of good news coming from the United States, coinciding with Philippines-United States relations.”

But, at the same time, Domingo also said the Philippines’s status is subject to annual review. “Like anything in life, there is no assurance…but it [removal of the Philippines from the list] is part of a group of positive actions by the US on Philippines issues.” 

The trade chief added that with the development, aspiring for membership in the TPP “should be easier as IP issues are a significant part of the TPP agenda.”

The US-led TPP is currently being negotiated among 12 countries and covers about 40 percent of the global economy. 

The trade deal is said to contain provisions going beyond the usual trade tariff rate-reduction measures, such as cross-border services trade, standards, labor and environment, and IP rights.

But other barriers remain for the Philippines, such as foreign ownership limitations that are set out in the Constitution and are still hurdles for TPP membership.  

“Congratulations to the NCIPR [National Commission on Intellectual Property Rights]. Its holistic approach was very effective in curbing piracy and fighting counterfeits. Enforcement is only the beginning in building respect for intellectual property. The Philippines reinforces its position as the country champion in IP Enforcement in Asean,” Director General Ricardo R. Blancaflor of Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines said, expressing satisfaction over the Philippines’s removal from the watch list. 

Blancaflor remains upbeat that the NCIPR would maintain its efforts even with the upgrade, saying, “I am confident the NCIPR will maintain its vigilance in the fight against counterfeits. As long as these unresolved issues are included in building respect for the IP International system, we will endeavor to sustain our current efforts.”

Sought for comment, American Chamber of Commerce and Industry Executive Director David Ebb Hinchliffe lauded the Philippines’s improvement on IPR. He said the development raised the country’s image by another notch.

“It’s very good news. The improving IP regime of the Philippines is an important component of the business climate here, particularly in innovative and high-tech sectors so the decision underscores that the Philippines is becoming a more attractive place for companies and investors to do business,” added Hinchliffe, quoting a message by USTR for Asia Karl Ehler. 

According to the Philippine report of the Oxford Business Group, the Philippines has been on the watch list of the USTR for two decades, at times being elevated on the Priority Watch List. 

The Quiapo Shopping District was removed from the USTR’s list of notorious markets for selling counterfeit clothing, shoes, watches and software in 2012, the same report noted.

The USTR 2013 Report already noted progress of the Philippines, such as its compliance with the World IP Organization’s Internet treaties, as well as a drop in the filming of movies in theaters. However, despite the improvement, the Philippines remained on the regular watch list in 2013. The regular watch list is the lowest tier identified for deficiencies of IP rights infringement.

The USTR’s Special 301 Report aims to push countries to better adhere to IP rights standards, and issues warning of possible trade sanctions for countries under the Priority Watch List if they are subjected to investigation by the USTR.

The Philippines has been showing a strong image in international regulatory compliance recently as it also received this month a Category 1 upgrade from the United States Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), signifying compliance with international aviation safety standards as set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

*reposted from Business Mirror news