THE Delegation of the European Union (EU) in the Philippines has called on intellectual property (IP) offices in Southeast Asia to reassess their role in helping economies and businesses survive while remaining resilient by continuing to be innovative and competitive during this pandemic.
Trade Counsellor Maurizio Cellini of the EU Delegation said that the European bloc remains committed in supporting its trading partners such as the Philippines in continuing to secure and protect intellectual property rights (IPR) of innovators, creatives and investors, particularly during these challenging times.
“We are happy that IP Key South-East Asia supports IP rights protection and enforcement in the region, and helps facilitate market access to international trading partners,” Cellini said, who was a speaker at the recently concluded IP forum for practitioners from Southeast Asia.
IP Key South-East Asia contributes its technical expertise and helps mount awareness-raising campaigns on IPR protection. It is funded by the EU and is implemented by the EU Intellectual Property Office. It aims to support the interests of the said region by helping countries address specific emerging challenges in IP.
IPRs, such as patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights or geographical indications, enable inventors, creators and businesses to prevent unauthorized exploitation of their creations, and to receive compensation for their investment. These also offer guarantees to users or consumers in identifying the origin of the goods concerned.
The Philippines, in particular, is an important and valued trading partner of the EU. Bilateral trade in goods was valued at €14.9 billion in 2019, while two-way services were at €3.7 billion in 2018. The bloc’s foreign direct investment stock in the country reached €13.8 billion in the same year, making the EU the largest foreign investor in the Philippines.
“With very strong trade relations between our markets, it is therefore in our mutual interest to continue to clear market-access barriers, owing to inadequate protection and enforcement mechanisms…needed to sufficiently protect IPRs,” the trade counsellor said, and added: “Through the years, we have seen some improvements in the [local] IP regime through the efforts of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.”
Geographical indication
CELLINI explained the EU is a strong supporter of geographical indications, and that the region is ready to provide technical expertise and guidance on ways to best help set up a system of protection in the Philippines.
A geographical indication is a distinctive sign used to identify a product whose quality, reputation or other such characteristics relate to its geographical origin. Examples would be Guimaras mango, Batangas barako coffee, Ilocos bagnet, or Sarangani Bay bangus (milkfish).
The EU supports better protection of geographical indications internationally due to increasing number of violations throughout the world. It is active in multilateral and bilateral negotiations protecting geographical indications within its territory.