IP Philippines presents intellectual property policy to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at innovation meet

26 November 2007 , Makati Shangri-La Hotel – The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) today submitted the Philippine Intellectual Property Policy Strategy to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the National Innovation Summit. The summit, led by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST), aims to develop an environment conducive for innovation through the adoption of policies that could accelerate innovation and spur growth across industries.

“IP Philippines spearheaded the crafting of the Philippine Intellectual Property Policy Strategy to tap the creative genius of our people, and to ensure that the IP system promotes innovation,” Atty. Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr., Director General of the agency, said. “The policy strategy will foster a creative and competitive Philippines that uses intellectual property for national development. This is the vision of IP Philippines for the country,” he added. 

In the two-year development phase of the strategy, IP Philippines has conducted 120 one-on-one interviews with IP generators from 51 public and private institutions. This number represents 30 sectors with a constituency ranging from the visual arts, literature and design to science and technology groups. The initial findings were then validated in a four-day workshop participated in by some 130 IP generators from 60 public and private institutions. During the workshop, the office gathered 10 research studies and position papers.  

“The Philippine IP Policy Strategy covers eight major sectors identified as the country’s IP assets and approaches to achieve the plan’s objectives,” Cristobal said. “These are public health; patent reform; universities and research and development institutions (RDI); biodiversity and genetic resources; indigenous knowledge systems and practices (IKSP), folklore and geographic indications; small- and medium-sized enterprises; copyright and other creative industries and; capacity-building and heightened IP enforcement.”

Apart from IP Philippines, other institutions and their corresponding programs presented to the President in the summit include the University of the Philippines’ Engineering Research and Development for Technology (ERDT) Program; the Department of Agriculture’s e-K Agrikultura; the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s technology business incubators in universities and colleges; the Philippine Economic Zone Authority’s open technology incubation program; IBM Philippines and the National Disaster Coordinating Council’s Emergency Response Network Sahana Project and; the DoST’s Filipinnovation.       

Cristobal also underscored the importance of a strong IP policy in the economic performance of the country during his presentation in the summit saying, “IP and innovation are essential to our country’s survival and continued competitiveness in the new global knowledge-based economy.”

 “The Philippines should not be contented as a nation importing technologies. Neither should we be satisfied with being mere users of other nation’s technology. The country needs to be the creator, the inventor, the supplier of new technologies in the world market,” he added.

IP Philippines referred to the United Kingdom Commission on Intellectual Property Rights; the World Intellectual Property Organization IP Audit Tool and; the Medium Term Philippine Development Plan 2004 to 2010 as guide during the development of the policy strategy. In addition to the consultations with IP stakeholders, the office reviewed trends and developments in IP and the relationship between IP and economic growth and innovation in crafting the Philippine Intellectual Property Policy Strategy.