Filipino scientist, Jollibee founder in international video documentary
 
Multi-awarded scientific researcher Dr. Ramon F. Barba and Jollibee Foods Corporation Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tony Tan Caktiong top bill the recently produced video documentaries of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Barba discovered the application of potassium nitrate for flower induction in mango trees. The WIPO webcast page features personalities chosen from the 184 member states of WIPO. The country represented by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) forms part of the international organization’s member states.  
The WIPO video documentary featuring Barba and Tan Caktiong can be viewed at its website http://www.wipo.int/multimedia.

WIPO Communications and Public Outreach Division produces video documentaries to aid public understanding on intellectual property. Barba and Tan Caktiong, the first Asian inventor and entrepreneur respectively featured by WIPO, join other creators and innovators from Burkina Faso (filmmaker), Kenya (filmmaker), Mali (singers, songwriters), Nigeria (inventor), Peru (singer, songwriter), Switzerland (watchmaker), and Tunisia (glass artist).

Barba has at least 12 awards to his name including the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) in Agriculture, and the DA-Khush Award, the highest award conferred by the Federation of Crop Science Societies of the Philippines (FCSSP). Tan Caktiong, on the other hand, received the World Entrepreneur of the Year (EOY) Award from Ernst & Young in 2004.

WIPO formally presented the video documentary to IP Philippines Director General Atty. Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr. in the First Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property in Geneva, Switzerland. “The selection of Barba and Tan Caktiong for this video documentary from a vast number of prospects recognizes the development of Filipino patents and trademarks in the international arena. Barba’s invention has been tagged as the most significant breakthrough in mango research. Tan Caktiong’s brand Jollibee is a widely known trademark in the local and international fast food industry,” Cristobal said. Cristobal added that the video documentary is a tool for increasing public awareness on the IP system particularly on the human development component of IP, and the value of the creators’ work to society.  

IP Philippines, the lead agency in the country mandated to implement state policies on intellectual property, provides the grant of patents and registration of trademarks and other marks of ownership. A patent is an exclusive right provided by the State through IP Philippines to a patent owner for a product, process, or an improvement of a product or process over a specified period. A trademark is any visible sign that distinguishes the products or services of an enterprise.

 

 

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