THE Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is moving closer to a single-patenting regime just like in the European Union with the launch of initiatives to harmonize the examination process for patent applications in the region.

Adrian Cristobal Jr., director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Phils.), said through the Asean Patent Examination Cooperation (Aspec), innovators and entrepreneurs who applied for patent in the Philippines can use the result of his examination reports here in applying for patents in other member-countries.

He said this will save the innovators time and resources for their patent applications.

Cristobal said while Aspec only covers examination of the patent application, which is just one part of the process, it will be a big contribution to the Asean Economic Community program that is slated to start in 2015.

“It’s a good start to try to set up a regional arrangement that will make it easier for inventors, scientist and entrepreneurs to obtain patent. It cuts the cost of doing business, and hopefully also, this will attract foreign investment into the region,” Cristobal, currently the chair of the Asean Coordinating Committee on Intellectual Property Policy and Cooperation, told reporters.

He said the patent regime in the region will still be territorial for now, which means those who want to seek patents in any Asean member-country will have to apply in each jurisdiction.

Still, Cristobal said the Aspec will be a step to build confidence on the integrity of IP officers in the region to examine patent applications.

Meanwhile, Cristobal reported that the campaign against piracy has led to the confiscation of over P3.3 billion worth of counterfeit items from January to June this year.

This, Cristobal said, means that the haul for the anti-piracy campaign this year will surely exceed the P3.5 billion worth of confiscated items in the whole of 2008.

Included in the confiscated items are three replicating machines with a total estimated value of P200 million.