Intellectual property management certification launched
IPOPHL joined the Bureau of Customs in destroying P2 billion worth of counterfeit items at a Bulacan warehouse in July 2021. (Photo from Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines)
MANILA, Philippines — The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has launched a certification course on intellectual property management as part of its campaign to help upskill local professionals in the field.
The IPOPHL said the four-day course, the first batch of which will run from March to May, will cover topics such as licensing, audit, valuation and management of IP rights.
“Uncovering and maximizing the economic value of IP assets through licensing, audit, valuation and management of IP rights is integral if creators are to maneuver and compete in today’s digital economy,” IPOPHL Director General Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz said in a statement on Wednesday.
She highlighted how leveraging high-value IP and intangible assets is central to building a competitive advantage in the modern economy, which has shifted its priority toward intangible assets.
In 2023, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) reported that intangible investments accounted for more than half of global gross domestic product, consistently outpacing tangible investments for decades.
This trend highlights the growing importance of intellectual property, research and development and other non-physical assets in driving economic growth.
READ: IPOPHL pushes for intellectual property teaching in basic ed
According to WIPO, aggregate intangible investment more than doubled from $2.9 trillion in 1995 to $6.9 trillion in 2023.
In contrast, tangible investment increased by only 73 percent over the same period, rising from $2.7 trillion to $4.7 trillion.
Copyright protection
This disparity points at a seeming global shift toward knowledge-based economies and a growing emphasis on innovation and intellectual assets.
In the Philippines, IP registrations through copyright filings are also growing, reaching record high in 2024 and posting its highest in the last five years.
The IPOPHL reported that 6,552 certificates had been issued in 2024, slightly higher than the 6,522 recorded in the preceding year.
READ: IPOPHL sees record-high copyright registration in 2024
Issued certificates reached 3,706 in 2022, 2,141 in 2021 and 940 in 2020, according to data from the IP rights regulator.
Of the total in 2024, over half or 65 percent of the copyright registrations in 2024 were for books, pamphlets, articles, e-books, audio books, comics, novels and other writing-related IP.
These were followed by computer programs, software, games and applications, which accounted for 10 percent of registrations.
Meanwhile, musical compositions, both with and without lyrics, made up 7 percent.
Visual arts – including drawings, paintings, architectural works, sculptures, engravings, prints, lithographs and artistic models or designs – also comprised 7 percent.
