IPOPHL reports 4.4% rise in IP protection filing
THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said applications for IP registration increased by 4.4 percent to 36,709 in the first nine months of 2022, driven by an increase in economic activities.
“January to September filings for trademarks, patents, utility models [UMS] and industrial designs [IDS] stood at 36,709, expanding from 35,172 in the same period in 2021,” IPOPHL said in a news statement issued on Thursday.
The nine-month total, IPOPHL said, books in a 3.1 percent growth over filings in the first nine months in 2019 or pre-pandemic.
IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba attributed the growth to the increased economic activities in the country, as reflected in the 7.8 percent gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first nine months of the year.
“The latest figures show impressive recovery in IP filings as we are on track to exceeding the pre-pandemic volume. This is largely driven by increased economic activities as several areas where quarantine restrictions have de-escalated to their laxest yet,” Barba said.
As to the breakdown of the IP filings, IPOPHL noted that trademark filings pushed the growth, growing by 5.6 percent to 31,665. It also noted that residents accounted for 62 percent of the applicants at 19,762.
According to IPOPHL’S glossary of terms, a trademark is any visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods of one enterprise from that of another, or identifying the source or provider of the goods.
In terms of sectors, IPOPHL noted the bulk of trademark filings were in pharmaceuticals, health, cosmetics, with 19 percent share; followed by agricultural products and services, 16.8 percent; and scientific research, information and communication technology, 14.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the agency noted that patent filings climbed 2.3 percent to 3,116 with non-residents contributing 90 percent or 2,807.
Patent is an exclusive right that allows the inventor to exclude others from making, using, importing or selling the product of his intervention during the life of the patent, as per the definition of terms published on IPOPHL’S web site.
IPOPHL said patent filings were “concentrated” on pharmaceuticals with 29.3 percent share; organic fine chemistry, 11.6 percent; and biotechnology, 8.6 percent.
Industrial designs (IDS), which protect the “unique appearance” of a product, climbed by 1 percent to 923. IPOPHL said the biggest boost came from non-residents at a 56 percent share or 516.
“An industrial design application is an application for a patent to protect against the unauthorized use of new, original, and ornamental designs for items of manufacture,” IPOPHL glossary read.
For ID applications, the agency said means of transport or hoisting contributed the most with 18.7 percent share; followed by packages and containers for the transport or handling of goods, 9.1 percent; and furnishing, 8.4 percent.
As for utility models (UM), which provide “patent-like” protection at a shorter duration and with a less rigorous application process, filings contracted by 17.2 percent to 1,005. IPOPHL said majority of the filings were filed by residents making up 96 percent or 960.
According to IPOPHL, most UM applications were in food chemistry, with 46.8 percent share; other special machines, 9.1 percent; and IT methods for management, 4.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the agency noted that registrations for copyright jumped 69.1 percent to 2,602, mostly driven by books, pamphlets, articles, ebooks, audio books, comics, novels and other writings, with 29 percent share; other literary scholarly, scientific and artistic works, 27.8 percent; and drawings, paintings, architectural works, sculpture, engraving, prints, lithography or other works of art, models or designs for works of art, 9.3 percent.