The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has extended its filing assistance program for new applications under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), allowing local inventors to seek patent protection in multiple countries at reduced costs.
The PCT Filing Assistance Program waives selected fees and provides technical consultation to help applicants navigate the international patent system.
Under the program, preliminary search fees of $200 for small entities and $600 for large entities are waived, along with preliminary examination fees of $150 and $300, respectively.
IPOPHL said the technical consultations guide applicants on how the PCT system works, emphasizing that while it does not grant a single global patent, it allows inventors to file one application that may later take effect in multiple contracting states.
The agency has allocated slots for 100 qualified applicants under the extended program.
Eligible participants include individual Filipino inventors, higher education institutions that are members of the Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSO) network, and foreign applicants that designate IPOPHL as their office of first filing.
Acting IPOPHL director general Nathaniel S. Arevalo encouraged inventors to maximize the opportunity.
“[We urge inventors] to take advantage of the program to ensure they have a solid foundation in enforcing their IP rights against infringers, enabling them to expand to new markets with greater ease,” Arevalo said.
Meanwhile, Bureau of Patents officer-in-charge Cristina P. De Guzman underscored the importance of international patent protection.
“Hence, inventors must protect their technologies in each market where they intend to have presence, whether through sales, distribution or manufacturing,” De Guzman said, noting that patent rights are territorial in nature.
Administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the PCT streamlines and reduces the cost of filing patents and utility models in multiple jurisdictions.
It allows applicants from member countries to submit a single international application through a national receiving office, instead of filing separately in each target market.
The extension of the program comes as the Philippines marks its 25th year as a PCT contracting state, following its accession to the treaty in 2001. The international system now covers 158 contracting states worldwide.
