ADRIAN S. CRISTOBAL JR., lawyer, was appointed Director General of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2005.

As head of agency, the Director General is chief executive officer of IP Philippines, an organization of professional civil servants, responsible for the administration of the country’s intellectual property system and the development of its various stakeholders. Created by the Intellectual Property Code (Republic Act No. 8293), the Office grants patents, registers trademarks and technology transfer agreements, settles disputes, raises public awareness about IP to foster creativity, attract investments, and promote technology transfer and commercialization.

Under the leadership of Mr. Cristobal, IP Philippines has achieved financial self sustainability, operating independently using its own revenue without government subsidy since 2006.

Before accepting the top post at IP Philippines, Mr. Cristobal was the Undersecretary (Deputy Minister) of Trade and Industry for Consumer Welfare and Domestic Trade, concurrent supervising Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and the Chief of Staff of the Trade Secretary (Minister).

Mr. Cristobal obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California at Berkely, U.S.A, and earned his Juris Doctor of Laws at the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, where he was Associate Editor of the Ateneo Law Journal.  He has published several legal articles and essays in journals and other publications. At present, Mr. Cristobal writes a weekly column about IP, called “What’s in a Name?” for the Business Mirror, a respected business paper in the Philippines.