BOI joins IPOPHL in Mind2Market push, mulls over incentivising IP rights holders with tax relief
Published on August 1, 2019
The Board of Investments (BOI) and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) have inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) that will further ongoing efforts to shepherd useful and practical innovations into the market.
The deal, which will expand the network of IPOPHL's Mind2Market program, was signed by BOI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo and IPOPHL DG Josephine R. Santiago on July 23 at the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) headquarters in Makati City.
This makes BOI the third government office with which IPOPHL has enjoined to play an active role in its Mind2Market Program, following the Philippine Rice Research Institute and the DTI's Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development.
Ms. Santiago said the BOI's participation in the program will allow for a smooth coordination between the agencies when facilitating technical consultations on matters related to innovation, including on new and emerging technologies being registered with the BOI.
Such interaction will be made possible through the Online Linkage Channel (OLC) IPOPHL has established for the program's effective implementation. The OLC is an online tool intended for the use of Mind2Market government partners who will respond to stakeholders or direct them to the pertinent offices that can address the concerns they may raise with regard to processes relating to their intellectual property (IP) protection journey.
The BOI, particularly, will respond to stakeholders inquiring on matters relating to the registration, protection, and enforcement of IP lodged with IPOPHL, as well as to the granting of incentives to new and emerging technologies being registered with the investment promotion agency.
“The Mind2Market program is actually addressing the connectivity problem that should have been resolved long ago especially with the increasing applications for the protection of their IP assets,” Ms. Santiago said.
"As IPOPHL, we have to identify the players of the innovation ecosystem and we want our inventors to be handheld from one key player to the next. We send them to an identified critical player that will help them move from their current stage toward the completion of their IP journey, which is commercialisation,” she added.
BOI looks into granting IP asset owners with fiscal perks
The MOA, according to Mr. Rodolfo, is also seen as a first step toward the eventual granting of tax reliefs to IPOPHL-registered innovators.
“Through this MOA, we aim to promote the commercialisation of IP's registered with IPOPHL, which may subsequently be considered for investment incentives under BOI, by linking it to industry stakeholders," Mr. Rodolfo said.
The BOI official said it will consider putting an explicit mention of “intellectual property” in the next Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP). The current one, which runs for three years to 2019, already enlists innovation-driven activities, among other project undertakings, making it eligible to be granted the tax reliefs offered by the BOI.
Examples of such activities include research and development, the conduct of clinical trials establishment of centres of excellence, innovation centers, business incubation hubs, fabrication laboratories, and the commercialisation of new and emerging technologies and products of the Department of Science and Technology or any government-funded R&D.
“In addition to the innovation driver criterion, we may be able to include a specific mention in the SIPP, something like ‘any new intellectual registered under the IPOPHL can qualify for registration in the BOI within five years from the time of registration.’ It will also encourage the commercialisation in the innovation and creative industries. That will have a big impact,“ Mr. Rodolfo added.
For her part, Ms. Santiago welcomed the consideration of offering tax incentives to IP rights holders, adding such a move is timely with the local IP system is now at a “sunrise phase,” especially with the backing of Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez , one of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s ‘“formidable three.”
“We hope this is something that will be a very good attraction for creators and inventors. We're far away from the highest peak but we know we have already moved intellectual property awareness through many sectors through new and innovative ways the office has been introducing,” the IPOPHL chief added.
BOI-IPOPHL, a vital partnership in attracting investments
Mr. Rodolfo, also Undersecretary at the DTI's Industry Development and Trade Promotion Group, highlighted the crucial need for the BOI and the IPOPHL to synergize in furthering the objectives of the IP Code, particularly in developing domestic and creative activity, facilitating technology transfer, attracting foreign investors and ensuring market access for Philippine products
"In the industrial promotion activities of the BOI, we always highlight the strong protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights in the Philippines as one of the key benefits of investing in the country," Mr. Rodolfo said.
He touted government's triumph in avoiding for five straight years inclusion from the United States Trade Representative’s Special 301 Watch List which flags economies that have serious concerns in their IP rights system in terms of enforcement and policymaking.
"The exclusion of the Philippines in the USTR. Special 301 Watch List has also provided stable market access conditions for industrial products being exported to the US. This is especially important in light of the recent additional tariffs imposed by the US on countries that are in the priority watch list," Mr. Rodolfo said.
The BOI and IPOPHL are looking forward to more collaborative engagements, particularly with relevant stakeholders such as the creative industries, among others.