PCCI, WIPO join hands to promote IP awareness

The country’s largest business group has renewed its ties with the World Intellectual Property Office (Wipo), aiming to promote and strengthen intellectual property awareness and understanding among Filipino entrepreneurs.

In a recent statement, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said it agreed with WIPO that there should be a national strategy to build respect for intellectual property and develop tools to raise awareness.

“Companies have become more mindful of innovation and are now always on the lookout for strategies to succeed. Intellectual property is important to achieve this goal as it protects an asset that may be integral to the overall and long-term viability of a business,” said George Barcelon, president of PCCI.

Anton Sayo, chair of PCCI’s intellectual property committee, said increasing costs, inaccessibility and excessive processing time were the main issues that were hampering the growth of the country’s intellectual property sector.

Awareness programs

Sayo said local governmentd should also be involved in awareness programs and legislation issues, as well as in the curriculum development of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) courses in public universities.

Peter Willimott, officer in charge of Wipo, said they were interested to help PCCI with its intellectual property advocacies.

“The long-term engagements include working with relevant agencies to add innovation components to school curriculum, similar to how the Wipo academy develops its curriculum. The short term, on the other hand, involves capacitating businesses on brand protection, particularly, among the small and medium enterprises,” Willimott said.

PCCI said it had partnered with WIPO in a number events that aimed to educate micro, small, and medium enterprises on how to protect their brand and avoid becoming victims of cybercrime.