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President Gloria Arroyo recently hosted a thanksgiving lunch for officials of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines at Malacañan following the removal of the country from the Priority Watch List of the Office of the United States Trade Representative this month. Shown listening to the President are (from left): Optical Media Board Chairman Eduardo Manzano, Intellectual Property Coalition Chairman John Lesaca, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, IP Philippines Director General Adrian Cristobal Jr., and National Capital Region Police Office Director Vidal Querol. Not seen in photo are Philippine National Police Director General Arturo Lomibao, PNP Chief Superintendent Jesus Versoza and Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez. |
IP Philippines beefs up IP enforcement and promotion
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) is poised to strengthen further inter-agency coordination to sustain the enforcement and promotion of intellectual property rights for the benefit of Filipinos following the directives of President Arroyo.
IP Philippines Director General Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said that the President has called for closer-inter-agency coordination to strengthen the IP system to convict pirates and ensure that the local talents and businesses are protected and developed.
The President also emphasized the importance of IP for the growth of Philippine SMEs and industries, such as the copyright sector of artists, musicians, designers, and software developers.
Cristobal was tasked to formulate a National IP Policy and Strategy to ensure that the nation's IP assets will spur economic growth.
According to the IP Philippines chief, "a strong IP system is indispensable in a knowledge-based economy, where intangible assets are becoming more valuable than tangible assets like factories and land."
He cited firms like IBM and Microsoft as examples of companies earning billions of dollars a year just on their intellectual property assets, which constitute about 2/3 of their total assets.
"A viable IP system is also a powerful incentive for invention and innovation that will enable our country to develop the technological advantage to compete globally. Our country's positioning, for instance, as an ICT hub in this region requires a strong IP system," Cristobal added.
Arroyo on Monday hosted a thanksgiving lunch in Malacañang for IP officials headed by Cristobal in appreciation of the country's removal from the Priority Watch List of the United States Trade Representative's Office.
During the lunch, which was also attended by Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila, Department of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Optical Media Board chairman Edu Manzano, IP Coalition chairman John Lesaca and police and National Bureau of Investigation officials including Philippine National Police chief Arturo Lomibao, PNP-NCR police chief Vidal Querol, Chief Supt. Jesus Versoza and Oscar Mantaring, the President urged the officials to further expand and strengthen the campaign against piracy.
She has ordered Lomibao to triple the efforts of the police in raiding violating establishments and arresting IPR offenders. The President has also directed the PNP to double the number of police enforcers assigned to fight piracy from 20 to 40.
Prosecutions and convictions against IP violators is also anticipated to be further expedited starting this year as DOJ Secretary Gonzalez created a special IP Task Force in the justice department and designated 94 prosecutors nationwide to hear and decide on IP cases.
The President has also tasked Lesaca and the Office of Press Secretary to implement a public information drive in coordination with IP Philippines on the negative effects of piracy in the economy.
She also ordered the government to expand the regulatory framework for IP protection.