THE IPOPHL TAKES OVER MANAGEMENT OF ASEAN IT TOOLS ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

10 March 2017

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) recently participated in the final meeting of the European Union and the ASEAN to take stock of the achievements of a 4-year support initiative funded by the EU on Intellectual Property Rights. The project is a EUR 3,8 Million programme implemented by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO). 

The project was designed in 2013 to support ASEAN regional integration and further upgrade and harmonize the systems for Intellectual Property creation, protection, administration and enforcement in the ASEAN region. The support is in line with international standards and with the ASEAN Intellectual Property Right Action Plan.

During the meeting three ASEAN IT Tools developed under the ECAP Project were formally handed over the Philippines in its capacity as Country Lead for information technology, trademark, and industrial design initiatives in the region. 
The three tools now being managed by the IPOPHL are (1) ASEAN TMview, the online platform showcasing the trademarks protected in the ASEAN region, including trademark applications; (2) ASEAN Designview, the search database of published and registered industrial designs in the region; and (3) ASEAN IP Case Law Database, a restricted access database of selected cases on intellectual property that have been decided in ASEAN and in the EU. ASEAN TMview contains over 3.5 million trademark records while ASEAN Design view has more than 160,000 designs from 9 ASEAN IP Offices. These tools are available free of charge.

Director General of IPOPHL. Josephine Rima-Santiago, who led the Philippine Delegation to the EU-ASEAN Meeting, considered it a “privilege for the IPOPHL to take over the management and maintenance of the IT Tools on behalf of the ASEAN Member States”. She expressed appreciation to the ASEAN Member States and the EU for their confidence in the IPOPHL. Director General Santiago also reiterated the commitment of the IPOPHL to ensure that the tools are accessible to stakeholders 24/7 and that adequate resources are allocated to the maintenance of the tools. 
The hand over was done at the 52nd Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) held in Vientiane, Lao PDR last 14-17 February 2017. The meeting discussed, among others, the status of various activities and initiatives under the 2016-2025 ASEAN IPR Action Plan, where the Philippines is country champion or co-champion in 13 initiatives out of the total 19 initiatives included in the Action Plan.

The tools are accessible online at https://www.asean-tmview.org, https://www.asean-designview.org, and https://asean-ipcaselaw.org.