SC and IP Philippines sustain strategic alliance

26 November 2008 – The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) and Philippine Judicial Academy (PhilJa), the academic arm of the Supreme Court, conducts the Second Advanced Course on Intellectual Property (IP) Law for Commercial Court Judges on November 27 to 28. The course will train commercial court judges on specific legal issues common in intellectual property litigation. The training is a follow-up to the course on trademarks, patents, and copyrights held in 2006.

An expected 28 commercial court judges and IP legal officers from the National Capital Region and regional branches will be participating in this advanced course with Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno delivering the Keynote Address. International resource persons on IP will provide expert knowledge.

The second IP course will focus on more specific and complicated legal issues to enhance the judges' judicial skills required in resolving intellectual property law litigation.
The training is structured to follow a typical case in court from the application of a warrant up to judgment.  Topics on specific legal issues are presented at the appropriate stage of the case flow to allow participants to better appreciate the application of the law in particular stages of the case. 

Since IP Philippines took the helm as lead coordinating agency of the country’s IP system in 2005, a significant number of IP cases had been filed by various IP stakeholders annually. A total of 998 cases were filed in 2005, 471 in 2006, and 452 in 2007. “This indicates an increase in awareness among IP owners on their intellectual property rights,” according to IP Philippines Director General Adrian Cristobal Jr. who was appointed by the Chief Justice as a member of the high court’s Sub-Committee on Commercial Courts in recognition of the growing importance of intellectual property to national development.

As of September 2008, Supreme Court records reveal a total of 526 cases on intellectual property rights (IPR) violations pending in local courts. As the courses progress, it is projected that a steady decrease in the number of pending IPR violation cases in the courts will be achieved.

Cristobal underscored the value of a responsive judiciary in the enforcement of IP rights: “Among the country’s various intellectual property enforcers, the judiciary is crucial in creating a credible and sustainable IP system,” he said.

 

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