EU cites Phl for IPR improvements

The European Union (EU) is ready to support the Philippines in continuing to secure and protect the intellectual property rights of innovators, creatives and investors as it acknowledged improvements in the country’s intellectual property regime.

Trade Counselor Maurizio Cellini of the EU delegation to the Philippines said the economic bloc is a strong supporter of geographical indications (GIs) and is ready to provide technical expertise and guidance on how best to help set up a system of protection in the Philippines.

A GI is a sign used to identify a product whose quality, reputation or other such characteristics relate to its geographical origin.

The EU delegation has called on intellectual property offices in Southeast Asia to reassess their role in helping economies and businesses survive and remain resilient by continuing to be innovative and competitive during this pandemic.

Cellini said the EU remains committed to supporting its trading partners such as the Philippines.

Bilateral trade in goods with the Philippines was at 14.9 billion euros (about P857 billion) in 2019, while bilateral services were at 3.7 billion euros (P213 billion) in 2018. The EU foreign direct investments in the country reached 13.8 billion euros (P794 billion) in the same year, making the EU the largest foreign investor in the Philippines.

“With the very strong trade relations between our markets, it is therefore in our mutual interest to continue to clear market access barriers owing to inadequate protection and enforcement mechanisms that are needed to sufficiently protect IP rights,” Cellini said.

“Through the years, we have seen some improvements in the intellectual property regime of the Philippines,” he said.

The EU supports better protection of GIs internationally due to the increasing number of violations throughout the world.

The EU is active in multilateral and bilateral negotiations protecting European GIs and funds IP Key Southeast Asia, which is implemented by the EU Intellectual Property Office.

“We are happy that IP Key SEA supports intellectual property rights protection and enforcement in the region and helps facilitate market access to international trading partners,” Cellini said. “The IP Key Southeast Asia contributes its technical expertise and helps mount awareness-raising campaigns on intellectual property rights protection.”

Intellectual property rights (IPR) – such as patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights or geographical indications – enable inventors, creators and businesses to prevent unauthorized exploitation of their products, and to receive compensation for their investment.

These also offer guarantees to users or consumers to identify the origin of the goods concerned.