Gov’t readies ‘green lane’ to hasten trademark registration

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (Ipophl) plans to cut the time it takes to register trademarks, offering a “green lane” that will shave months off the timetable.

This practice, which the agency said was inspired by its counterpart in Europe, means registration for trademarks could take only a month as long as standards are met, from an average of eight months.

In a statement on Tuesday, Ipophl Director General Josephine Santiago said the agency would have a group of senior examiners that will determine if a certain trademark does not raise the red flags listed in the law.

Under the intellectual property law, there are absolute grounds that prevent a trademark from being registered, such as if it has scandalous or immoral matter.

Moreover, the law also prevents registration when a potential trademark is identical to an existing one.

“If it’s allowed by the [senior] examiners, the trademark application will be published for 30 days to accommodate any opposition. If there is no opposition, it will be deemed registered on the 31st day,” she said.

She, however, did not say when the green lane will be opened.

This is on top of other reforms, including increasing the manpower of the agency, Ipophl said.

This develops as the government bids to cut red tape, which is a perennial problem for businesses in the Philippines.

The Duterte administration recently passed Republic Act No. 11032, a law on the ease of doing business that will impose strict timetables for certain business to government transactions.

Ipophl earlier raised its reservations over the law, amid fears that the policy will force the agency to sacrifice the quality of its work in the interest of time.