Strong IPR regime attracts top-tier investments
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In the recent three-day business mission of the US-ASEAN Business Council to the Philippines , council members cited gains made by the country in sustaining efforts to build a strong intellectual property rights (IPR) regime. Council members met with top officials of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) led by Director General Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr. The mission aims to facilitate a dialogue between US businesses and Philippine government officials to boost investment and trade in the country. “We attach a great deal of importance to the work of IP Philippines. It is not only for our business interests, but for the development of the Philippines as well,” Matthew Daley, President of the US-ASEAN Business Council, said. “Countries with a strong regime on intellectual property have been able to attract the upscale investors and investments.” “We keep a very watchful eye on IPR issues around the region. As a major investor in the country, we have been struck by how serious the Philippine government is in addressing these issues. In comparing the Philippines with other countries in the region, it is leading the way in intellectual property in terms of tackling IPR,” said Liam Benham, Vice-President for Governmental Affairs, Asia-Pacific and Africa of Ford Motor Company. Benham also said that in order to stay ahead, automotive firms should regularly monitor key components of vehicles that are being counterfeited. Also present at the US-ASEAN Business Council meeting were Martin Hutagalung, Regional Director in Singapore ; Evelyn Mariano, Manila Representative of the business council and; senior executives from Ford, Monsanto Philippines, Oracle Corporation ( Philippines ), Time Warner, Unisys Philippines , and UPS Singapore PTE Ltd. Optical Media Board (OMB) Chairman Eduardo Manzano likewise attended. Presiding over the meeting, Cristobal pointed out that a strong IP regime is essential to promote creativity and innovation. He reiterated President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s call to protect and promote intellectual property rights as a strategic and critical component for the country’s socio-economic development by raising the level of competitiveness of Philippine businesses. Government, for one, has recorded a dramatic improvement in enforcement on IPR violations since the creation of the National Committee for Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) in 2005. From January to September this year alone, combined efforts of the enforcement agencies of the committee yielded an estimated value of P2.3 billion worth of seized counterfeit goods vis-à-vis government’s total haul of P1.3 billion in 2006. As for IP Philippines’ legislative agenda, Cristobal explained that government supports bills that would implement the provisions of the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) Internet Treaties, which the country acceded to in 2002. The treaties will create the foundation for a healthy expansion of e-commerce in member countries that ratify them, specifically in terms of generating more jobs, paving the way for more secure and diversified economies, and spurring social and cultural advancement. “The new proposals in Congress such as House Bill 1033 or An Act Penalizing Mall and Store Owners Engaging in the Sale of Contraband Products, and House Bill 1409 or the Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Pilferage Act of 2007 will strengthen the country’s IPR regime,” he said. For his part, Manzano revealed that OMB is planning to put together “a technical working group involving the Optical Media Board, IP Philippines, local and foreign stakeholders, to draft proposed amendments to the Optical Media Law, which was passed into law in 2003.” The OMB chair said amendments are necessary to make the law more responsive to the current scenario, especially with the proliferation of high-tech equipment that can replicate optical media.
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