PH remains off US IPR piracy blacklist

The Philippines remained out of the United States’ list of piracy hotspots for the second consecutive year, on the back of the government’s record achievements in curbing intellectual property rights (IPR) infringement in the country.

This developed despite renewed calls made by a number of US business groups to put the Philippines back on the said list.

Based on the latest Special 301 Report released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative, the “administrative enforcement reforms in the Philippines have resulted in streamlined procedures, enhanced inter-agency cooperation, and more enforcement action, including increased seizures of pirated and counterfeit goods.”

The USTR further noted that the Philippines’ “commitment to a whole-of-government approach to IPR enforcement has been critical to enhancing the effectiveness of IPR enforcement and has resulted in positive reports from a number of affected stakeholder groups.”

It can be recalled that the Philippines was stricken off the USTR piracy hotspot watch list only in 2014, after being in the list for 20 years.

This latest development is, thus, expected to further enhance the Philippines’ competitiveness, enabling the country to attract more foreign investments particularly the IP intensive industries, explained Allan B. Gepty, deputy director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

“This is a recognition of our hard work and sustained drive to improve the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in the country. It means that our national government gives priority to IP as a tool for economic development,” Gepty said.

“It is also a recognition of the good coordination and working relationship of various government agencies involved in IP enforcement, particularly members of the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR), and the Philippine Judicial Academy (Philja) and the judiciary for continuously building capacity for special commercial court judges and court attorneys. And, it is an indication of our productive partnership with the private sector. With an effective and reliable IP regime, we can expect more foreign investments, particularly IP intensive industries, in the country, and improved competitiveness,” he added.

The USTR’s Special 301 Report looks at the adequacy and effectiveness of the US trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights on an annual basis.

The 2015 report reviewed 72 of the US’ trading partners, which included the Philippines. Of this number, 37 were placed either on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.