IPOPHL enlightens SEIPI members on essentials of patent, integrated circuit design application process

Published on January 3, 2019

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) held on Dec. 12, 2019 a workshop for Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) members who are not yet familiar with intellectual property (IP), to gain an extensive understanding of the different IP tools, with much focus on patents and integrated circuit (IC) design which are the main attraction for electronics businesses. 

Bernard S. Niño, manager of operations, control, and development at ROHM electronics Philippines, Inc. said the workshop gave them an opportunity to learn how to begin their IP journey, the process for which he initially thought was an esoteric subject matter best left to lawyers. 

"What we learned here will be very useful to us, with so many inventions our company has completed or are still working on and showing to be very promising," Niño said. 

Encouraged by the value-adding offered by the IP system, Niño added he and other colleagues who attended the IPOPHL workshop now see the necessity of establishing an IP office or unit within their organization, and they have resolved to elevate this proposal to their bosses to give more focus on identifying which of the company's inventions are patentable and highly marketable.

"We hope IPOPHL can continue its workshop with SEIPI and next time help us delve into patent search and drafting," Niño added. 

Center for Applied Microelectronics and Programming, Inc. (CAMP) President Christian Raymundo K. Roque likewise looked forward to more workshops where IPOPHL can lead  industry players to IP commercialization, especially for startups like CAMP. 

"We're a startup so we still don't have funds to put up an IP office. So I hope the next workshops would provide guidance on how we can do these by ourselves," Roque added.

Nevertheless, the recent IPOPHL workshop provided CAMP a starter on the right way of applying for IP protection, according to Roque. 

SEIPI: "Collab with IPOPHL, long overdue" 

On the sidelines, Innovation Bureau Director Mary Grace Cruz-Yap met with SEIPI President Dan Lachica to discuss projects where IPOPHL can further contribute to the growth of the top exporter and among the biggest employment generators of the country, in a bid to ensure that the sector's investments here substantially benefit the Filipinos. 

SEIPI invited IPOPHL to the Philippine Semiconductor and Electronics Convention and Exhibition (PSECE) to be held in June 2020. The PSECE is the group's biggest annual event where industry leaders convene to discuss issues, future directions, and matters of strategic importance to sustain the competitiveness of the industry. 

Lachica offered IPOPHL to stage a whole-day learning seminar on the sidelines of the forum to capacitate industry players how to secure patent grants and apply protection for an integrated circuit design. IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago earlier encouraged registration of IC designs as the country has yet to see a first registered for it. 

"Our collaboration with IPOPHL is something we should have done sooner, but better late than never," SEIPI's Lachica said. 

"We feel that the IP system has answers to make our members gain more competitiveness, a very important quality for companies racing to take advantage of the benefits of the fourth industrial revolution, instead of stagnating to irrelevance," Lachica added.