The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is now an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA) duly appointed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).
The designation of IPOPHL as the 23rd ISA/IPEA in the world and the second in the Asean region was formally announced at the 57th WIPO General Assembly and 49th Session of the PCT Union Assembly on October 5, 2017.
With the designation, IPOPHL now has the goal to contribute to the more efficient functioning of the PCT system and to promote the use of the patent system in the Philippines and other developing countries.
As the second international searching authority in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is expected to spur innovation and technological advancement that are key factors in deepening Asean economic integration.
In his opening statement, Ambassador Evan Garcia, permanent representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, noted that the designation of the IPOPHL as an international authority complements government policy of mainstreaming science, technology and innovation platform across national and local development agenda and will further foster research and development which fits into the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022 towards a high-trust society and a globally-competitive knowledge economy.
The IPOPHL passed the rigorous application process and met the following PCT requirements on institutional capacity for appointment as an ISA/IPEA:
1.) Sufficient number of technical and manpower competence to carry out search and examination in required technical fields;
2) Use of comprehensive commercial and publicly-accessible databases covering patent and non-patent science and engineering databases, for search and examination;
3.) A comprehensive and multi-tiered quality management system namely, in-process quality check, ISO QMS 9001:2008 and internal Patent Quality Review System (PQRS); and
4.) Recommendation by established international authorities particularly the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and IP Australia.
