The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has onboarded motorcycle parts manufacturer D.I.D. Philippines to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on E-Commerce, marking a significant step in the company’s efforts to protect its Japan-quality motorcycle and bicycle chains, sprockets and other industrial products from counterfeiting activities online.

IPOPHL Deputy Director General Nathaniel S. Arevalo welcomed D.I.D’s entry into the E-Commerce MOU, noting that mobility is an integral part of everyday life for millions of Filipinos.

“As more Filipinos rely on motorcycles and bicycles to move people and goods, ensuring access to safe, high-quality and reliable components becomes increasingly important,” he said.

D.I.D. Philippines is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daido Kogyo Co., Ltd. based in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture, with an assembly plant located in Batangas. Keisaku Yonemura, Manager of the Daido Kogyo’s Corporate Planning Department and former President of D.I.D., shared that the company has taken legal action against infringers, but that counterfeit sellers continue to appear, making it an “endless and costly battle” to combat them.

Incumbent D.I.D. President Norio Ogawa added that in addition to damaging the reputation of companies and reducing their motivation to create new ideas, imitation products are often made with inferior materials and may harm consumers who purchase them. He also remarked that the government, companies and consumers have important roles in reducing such products and supporting honest businesses.

The E-Commerce MOU embodies this shared responsibility by bringing these stakeholders together to combat online counterfeiting. Beyond protecting brands, the collaboration ultimately benefits consumers by helping keep counterfeit and potentially unsafe products out of online marketplaces while fostering a safer and more trusted e-commerce environment.

Echoing the call for shared responsibility, Christine V. Pangilinan-Canlapan, Bureau of Legal Affairs Director and Supervising Director of IPOPHL’s IP Rights Enforcement Office emphasized the agency’s shift in paradigm from a whole-of-government to a whole-of-society enforcement approach.

D.I.D. Philippines is the 120th signatory to the E-Commerce MOU since its inception in 2021. # # # (Rawl Maliwat, Communications & Marketing Writer)