Filings for IP protection rose 20% in H1, says IPOPHL

Filings for intellectual property (IP) protection increased by 20 percent in the first half of the year, said the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), which saw the growth as a sign of recovery from the impact of the pandemic.

IPOPHL said in a statement on Monday that IP applications increased to 22,919 in the first six months of the year.

Most of these were trademark filings, which essentially distinguish a product or a service from the rest of the market. The rest were patent filings and utility model filings.

Trademark filings reached 19,649 in the first half, a 23- percent increase from 15,969 filings last year.

Most of them were in pharmaceuticals, health, cosmetics (5,786). These were followed by agricultural products and services (5,473); scientific research, information and communication technology (4,204); management communications, real estate and financial services (3,614); and textiles, clothing and accessories (2,865).

Local trademark filings made up the bulk of the applications at 12,288, while the rest were international filings.

“This development is a strong indication that some businesses in the Philippines are recovering and seeing the importance of IP as a competitive tool,” said Rowel Barba, director general of IPOPHL.

He also cited as contributing factors the availability of IPOPHL’s end-to-end service for online registration and the dedicated work the staff has put in encouraging IP protection.

Barba said IPOPHL would continue improving its online services to ensure smooth registrations.

He said it would also continue amplifying its educational and capacity-building initiatives to reach more micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises. INQ