THE Philippines had begun to implement measures for its removal from a “watch list” of intellectual property rights (IPR) violators drawn up annually by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) in 2012.

This, even as Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Ricardo Blancaflor acknowledged that a number of key measures need to be implemented for the Philippines to be finally removed from the watch list.

 “We submitted an action plan to the USTR because they said that is what they require from the Philippines. We are still awaiting the USTR’s comments. We need to know whether [the plan] is good enough,” said Blancaflor on the sidelines of a press briefing held in Makati City yesterday.

He noted that the US government agreed to work with the Philippines to craft a “road map” to counter piracy and counterfeiting, and eventually help Manila get out of its watch list of IPR violators. 

Blancaflor pointed out that the US government is keen on amendments to a number of laws concerning patents and copyright, as well as the designation of courts to adjudicate civil and criminal IPR cases.

“Unfortunately, these are not within the domain of the IPOPHL. If you read the report, they’re basically calling for the rest of the government to put in their contribution,” he said.

In its Special 301 Report, the USTR noted that “while additional efforts have been made to improve coordination among enforcement officials and to strengthen enforcement powers, the judicial system remains inefficient, with very few criminal IPR cases resulting in convictions over the last decade.”

“The United States encourages the Philippines to continue efforts to reform its judicial system, including by designating particular courts to adjudicate civil and criminal IPR cases, and by promulgating specialized IPR procedural rules that would streamline the judicial process for IPR cases,” the report read. 

The IPOPHL disclosed that the Philippine government has already submitted an “action plan” to the USTR, something which the US agency encourages countries on its watch list to implement. Blancaflor said his agency is awaiting the USTR’s comments.

Since 2010, Blancaflor said the IPOPHL has put in place a “holistic strategy” to fight piracy. The approach includes the cancellation of the US visa of mall owners who tolerate the sale of pirated goods in their premises, cancellation of the Securities and Exchange Commission registration of corporations found in violation of IP rights, interagency coordinated action in strengthening border control and a streamlined process in obtaining injunctive relief.