Atty. Rowel S. Barba
At present, IPOPHL is under the stewardship of Atty. Rowel S. Barba who assumed position as the 5th Director General in February 2020.
DIGITALIZING, FUTURE-PROOFING AMID A CRISIS
In just a few weeks that DG Barba was at the helm, Malacañang placed Luzon on community quarantine to address the threat of COVID-19 pandemic.
DG Barba rolled out the six-point BRIGHT Agenda, in time to fully future-proof IPOPHL services and help it withstand disruptions from the pandemic.
With this, IPOPHL completed its expansion of its e-services to finally allow end-to-end electronic processing of intellectual property (IP) registration, protection and even mediation.
It has expanded its payment options and, last October, launched its very own mobile app, the “IPOPHL Mobiliz,” where applicants can access IPOPHL's IP protection services, among others, using their mobile phone or devices.
Amidst the challenge of restricted movement during quarantine, IPOPHL swiftly adapted with the new normal and has been operating and providing seamless service through digitalization.
MSMEs, AT THE HEART OF RECOVERY GOALS
Atty. Barba continued to expand efforts to support MSMEs, under-resourced inventors and creators. Demonstrating this is the launch of the Juan for the World Program.
For the creative sector, IPOPHL held the Philippine International Copyright Summit which garnered a whopping 2.5 million viewer audience who gained deeper knowledge on copyright and related rights.
The Philippines also acceded to the Beijing Treaty of Audiovisual Performances to strengthen the protection of performers’ works overseas.
COMMERCIALIZING IP TECHNOLOGIES
In furthering innovation, DG Barba, as member of the Board of Investments, also succeeded in IPOPHL’s long-standing push to include the generation of patented technologies and commercialization of uncommercialized patents as projects benefiting from incentives under the 2020 Investment Priorities Plan.
Universities, colleges and research centers that are partners of IPOPHL under the Innovation and Technology Support Office Program can also qualify for the incentives.
A SILVER BRIGHT YEAR FOR A SILVER BRIGHT FUTURE
This year, 2022, IPOPHL is celebrating year-round its 25th year anniversary as an innovative and development-driven Office. With the theme “Creating a Silver BRIGHT Year” to sustain Philippine recovery, DG Barba hopes to create more impact in 2022 and sustain the country’s recovery from the pandemic’s economic shocks. The agency’s greater efforts to serve the MSMES, the independent inventors and creators, startups and underrepresented sectors in the knowledge economy show our transformation from an agency that merely registers and grants IP to a development-driven agency that aims to see all Filipinos and Filipinas benefit from the IP system.
DG Barba hopes to steer IPOPHL forward in its vision of "a progressive Philippines using intellectual property assets for inclusive economic and social development by 2030.”
