IP specialist at IPOPHL wins DTI SPRInts award for outstanding employees

June 23, 2022

Chief of the Bureau of Patents’ (BOP) Patent Publication, Registry and Administrative Services Division, Engr. Maria Cristina P. De Guzman was among the eight finalists of the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) 2018 System on Performance Rewards and Incentives (SPRInts) during the recognition ceremony held virtually on June 24, 2022.  

The SPRInts Award recognizes exemplary performance for DTI staff and executives. Winners each receive P50,000, a trophy and a certificate of recognition. 

Also the Officer-in-Charge of the Patent Cooperation Unit, De Guzman, from 2014 to 2019, led the Manpower and Organizational Structure core team that helped IPOPHL become an International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA), a status achievable only with compliance with stringent standards and nomination from fellow World Intellectual Property Organization members.

De Guzman was also part of the technical working group that developed the Early Search Report (ESR) initiative. The ESR drastically reduced the timeline in which Filipino inventors receive a search report and early opinion on their patent application — from 18 months to six months — allowing them to decide earlier whether to pursue an international patent application. 

The ESR initiative earned IPOPHL in 2018 its first Government Best Practices Award from the Development Academy of the Philippines. 

De Guzman is also the technical working group lead for developing biotechnology examination guidelines and the project leader in developing a new system to fairly recognize performing examiners. She also serves as IPOPHL’s focal person to ensure the success of patent work-sharing initiatives and programs such as the Patent Prosecution Highway and the ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation. 

BOP Director Lolibeth R. Medrano congratulated De Guzman, saying the reward is a “well-deserved” recognition for her significant  contributions in her 19 years at IPOPHL. 

“Engr. De Guzman exemplifies competence, dedication and excellence  as a public servant. She has greatly contributed in achieving BOP’s significant accomplishments and in attaining our stature as an internationally competent patent office that it is today,” Medrano added. 

The DTI SPRInts is an annual event to recognize and reward exemplary employees, aiming to motivate public servants to consistently deliver quality service. The annual search covers DTI employees at the national offices, regional offices and attached agencies and corporations.

The 2018 and 2019 runs were held this year due to postponement caused by the COVID-19 lockdowns. 

For the 2019 SPRInt search,Brianne Nicole A. Sanchez, IP Rights Specialist I of IPOPHL’s Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau, was selected as a semi-finalist for her achievement of producing two patent landscape reports, namely on coffee-related technologies and health-related information and communications technologies.

“The DTI SPRInts conducts such a stringent selection process, and it is a very competitive field for exemplary public servants,” Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua said. 

“Having been a judge for the SPRInts Awards when I was at the DTI as undersecretary, I know the challenges that meet the finalists. To be a nominee is indeed a feat in itself! Kudos to De Guzman and Sanchez! I hope their accomplishment inspires more IPOPHL employees to bag the trophy in the future SPRInt awards,” Pascua added.