The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has inked an agreement with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to support Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in protecting their intellectual property (IP) rights.
“Through the memorandum of agreement [MOA], IPOPHL and IBP will work to assist local communities with IPs and potential GIs [geographical indications] and handhold them toward the registration of their IPs and GIs,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said during the MOA signing on January 24, 2023 in Taguig City.
The IPOPHL chief said he hopes the partnership can bring “better appreciation and protection” of ICC products that will promote cultural heritage, strengthen intellectual property rights of indigenous cultural communities.
“We hope this partnership can bring better appreciation and protection of ICC products that will promote cultural heritage, strengthen IP rights of ICCs and inform and educate the public on IP,” Barba added.
For its part, IBP, the national organization of lawyers in the Philippines, will be providing pro bono legal assistance to ICCs once they register their IP assets, particularly in the prosecution and enforcement of their IP rights as owners.
IBP Executive Vice President and Eastern Visayas Governor Antonio C. Pido said partnering with IPOPHL would allow IBP “to provide assistance to marginalized communities and the indigenous peoples’ communities so that they will have more faith in our legal system.”
According to IPOPHL, the signing of the MOA comes after the Implementing Rules and Regulations for GI registration took effect in November 2022.
GIs are signs used on products that have a specific quality or reputation due to their geographic origins. IPOPHL said the Guimaras Mangoes was filed as the first GI application in the country. Other formerly registered collective marks such as the Bikol Pili and the Tau Sebu T’nalak have also been identified as potential GIs, said IPOPHL.
Aside from helping indigenous cultural communities, IPOPHL said the partnership aims to assist MSMEs in fully utilizing their trademarks through IPOPHL’s Juana Make a Mark and Juan for the World programs by providing them with legal aid if needed.
Meanwhile, IPOPHL said those who register their trademarks abroad through the Madrid System, the international route for trademark registration, may also expect financial assistance from IBP to cover an application’s basic fee – about P49,627 – for a colored mark and about P35,888 for a black and white.
According to IPOPHL, the Juana Make a Mark enables women and women-led enterprises to register their trademark at a reduced cost.
Meanwhile, the Juan for the World aids MSMEs in registering their trademarks through the Madrid Protocol – the international route for trademark application – “with private and public sectors providing them with financial and technical business assistance.” -30-