JICA visits IP Philippines for PACSYS aid 

The Japanese Consultation Team of the Japan International Cooperation Agency, led by team leader Tsutomu Nagae (fourth from left) of the JICA Economic Development Department, calls on Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines Director General Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. (third from left) at the IP Philippines office in Makati City. The team is in the country for a five-day mid-term evaluation study of the “Modernization of Industrial Property Administration Project” currently being undertaken by JICA and IP Philippines.  

The said project includes activities aimed at enhancing and making the Patent Administration Computerized System (PACSYS) fully operational through an upgrade of its functionalities, operating and application software and hardware components as well as capacity-building on the system operation maintenance through hands-on training and consultations. The PACSYS is designed to streamline IP Philippines’ patent administration process, enhance patent examination and processing procedures for the speedy grant of patents and registration of utility models and industrial designs.  

This JICA-assisted project is a follow-up to the internal reforms the IP Philippines is instituting to strengthen the intellectual property rights protection in the country. 

With a P30 million fund from JICA, the follow-up cooperation project for the improvement of PACSYS has been running since November 2004 and will end in May 2006. 

Photo shows (from left): Yukio Ishida, JICA Philippine Office Deputy Resident Representative; Toru Yamazaki of the Industrial Property Administration of the Japan Patent Office; Cristobal; Nagae; Yusuke Takahashi of the JICA Cooperation Planning; and Toshihiro Tsuchiya, IP Philippines-based JICA expert.