More Filipinos seeking intellectual property protection

MANILA – The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) reported Monday that applications for intellectual property protection significantly increased in 2018.

IPOPHL said intellectual property filings last year rose 15 percent to 44,461 from only 38,801 applications in 2017.

IPOPHL Director General Josephine Santiago said the rising intellectual property filings reflects the growing creative and scientific economy, while recognizing the added-value of protecting intellectual

property in commercial activities and in research and development.

Santiago also attributed the increase in application to IPOPHL’s expansion of intellectual property satellite offices in Dumaguete, Naga, and Zamboanga, as well as the rising number of online filings.

IPOPHL data showed that online applications in 2018 jumped 35 percent to 10,346 from 7,645 in the previous year. Online filing has been on the rise since it was launched in 2016.

The IPOPHL chief likewise highlighted the office’s closer collaboration with the academe and the private sector in promoting intellectual property rights.

Largest intellectual property applications last year were for trademarks with 35,602 filings. This is followed by patents with 3,946 applications, utility model with 2,124 filings, industrial designs at 1,521, and copyright deposit recordation at 1,268.

“Intellectual property underlies many of the critical sectors driving the vibrancy of a knowledge-based economy like the Philippines, as the filings data show. We hope in 2019 and onwards, many more intellectual property creators come to realize this,” said Santiago.