IPOPHL deploys new patent search tool

user-friendly WIPO product geared for the general public

The general public can now search more easily for patent applications, that have been filed at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) with the WIPO Publish, an accessible and user-friendly search tool.

The IPOPHL has officially launched the new IPOPHL Patent Search using the WIPO Publish platform last September 17, making available for public search all granted Invention, as well as published and registered Utility Models, and Industrial Design applications.

WIPO Publish allows a highly customizable search experience, with researchers being able to apply filtering search  mechanisms in the basic search mode or choose specific fields in an application's bibliographic data in the advanced search.

With the wider access to patent information, researchers, intellectual property (IP) owners, and potential intellectual property applicants can be aware of the existing technologies and designs that are published or already granted.

Conducting independent patent information search is recommended practice for researchers, to  avoid duplication of effort and possible infringement. Interested IP stakeholders can also get an idea of the technologies and designs that are still novel and unexplored.

Apart from their own specialized databases, patent examiners may also use  WIPO Publish to aid their prior art search, a  crucial step in determining an application’s novelty.