The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has begun crafting the country’s National Intellectual Property Strategy (NIPS) Project to enable Filipinos to benefit fully from the IP system.
The NIPS is expected to be completed within one year. It will commence implementation in April 2018.
The launch event, held on May 30 at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City, attracted close to 300 participants from various government agencies, universities, banks, intellectual property organizations.
In light of the seeming correlation between the economic growth of powerhouses like Japan, China, Taiwan, and South Korea and their support of innovation, as seen through their patents and industrial design, the IPOPHL said it hopes to develop the NIPS that is aimed at stimulating a similar level of growth in the country.
NIPS is envisioned to enhance the innovation agenda of the country through the appropriate use of intellectual property tools like patents, industrial designs, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets; and services such as patent information searches to help researchers and scientists in the generation of new ideas that may be protectable by intellectual property towards having new products in the market.
This wealth of information could be useful to relevant industries to make available, accessible, and affordable products in the market.
Former president Fidel V. Ramos, who signed the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines into law, also graced the launch and highlighted the importance of intellectual property in the country.
IPOPHL director-general Josephine Santiago said crafting the NIPS will “ensure that we add more value to the various development plans and roadmaps, including creativity and innovation, of the Philippines through the effective use of the IP system.”
She said that for the country to be able to compete globally, a purposive national policy is needed to transform the Philippines into a knowledge-driven and innovative society.
WIPO deputy director-general Mario Matus emphasized the importance of the national intellectual property strategy as a long-term plan.
He said that “the national IP strategy should be compatible, coherent, and integrated with the broader development plan of the country,” adding that “every society can profit from intellectual property and is inextricably linked with innovation”.
“Today, IP is considered one of the essential ingredients for innovation that can fuel the thrust towards inclusive growth,” said DTI secretary Ramon M. Lopez.
“The NIPS can provide the needed backbone to encourage research and development activities in the academic sector to sustain the growth of science and technology, strategically preparing our industrial and creative sectors to become global players in international markets.”
DOST secretary Fortunato dela Pena underlined the importance of the NIPS to innovation. “The only effective method of achieving our aspirations of an innovative people is through the adoption of a whole-of-government approach through fully-integrated and responsive science, technology and IP national polices,” he noted.
He said that the DOST is aiming for at least 1,000 patent applications to be filed annually before 2022.
Dr. William Padolina, as representative of the CHED, underlined the importance of higher education in the push for innovation. “Let us give full support to higher education as part of the enabling environment for innovation in the Philippines.”
