Revised intellectual property rules bring faster cases resolution
With the implementation of the revised rules of procedure for intellectual property rights cases, stakeholders expect the faster resolution of cases involving IPR infringement and other concerns in the country.
The 2020 Revised Rules of Procedure for Intellectual Property Rights Cases is set to take effect on 16 November 2020.
In a statement released by the Supreme Court last Friday afternoon, the revised IPR Rules came about due to the extensive and thorough discussions by stakeholders from various sectors, practitioners, the academe, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, and the Judiciary.
The different stakeholders were aiming at improving, facilitating, and expediting cases in response to the ever-changing landscape of IPR litigation in the country.
Such measures were designed to foster a legal atmosphere that ultimately spurs creative activity and innovation, technology transfer, and foreign investment by including more salient features of the 2019 Amendments to the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure were integrated therein.
Among them are the inclusion of the complaint and the answer thereto to include the evidence in support thereof. The answer shall likewise be filed within 30 calendar days from service of summons, while the answer to counterclaims or cross claims shall be filed and served within fifteen calendar days from service of the answer in which they are pleaded. Replies are no longer prohibited for as long as the answer includes an actionable document.
The new IPR rules also incorporate the amended provision on substituted service of summons.
Extraterritorial service of summons as provided for in international conventions to which the Philippines is a party shall also be allowed. In keeping with the language of the 2019 Amendments to the Revised Rules of Civil Procedure, the 2020 IPR Rules are also now gender sensitive.