IPOPHL’S NATIONAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY STRATEGY (NIPS): A WHOLE-OF-GOVERNMENT PUSH FOR DEVELOPMENT THROUGH CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

30 May 2017

From left to right: Dr. William T. Padolina, representing Dr. Patricia B. Licuanan of CHED; DOST Secretary Fortunato T. dela Peña; Deputy Director General Mario Matus of WIPO; IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago; DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez; Former IPOPHL Director General Ricardo R. Blancaflor

Can the protection of innovation and creativity spur sustainable economic growth? Will a whole-of-government IP strategy be the key to lasting, sustainable, and inclusive development? The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) hopes to lay out a systematic path to harness Filipino talent, skill and creativity as an engine for the country’s development through the launch of the National Intellectual Property Strategy (NIPS) Project, held Tuesday, May 30 at the Fairmont Hotel, Makati City. The event attended by close to 300 participants from various government agencies, universities, chambers of commerce, banks, intellectual property organizations, and other private sector marks the kickoff of the formulation of the NIPS.

How Innovation Leads to Growth

In light of the seeming correlation between the economic growth of powerhouses like Japan, China, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea and their support of innovation, as seen through their patents and industrial design, the IPOPHL hopes to develop the NIPS that is aimed at stimulating a similar level of growth in the country. NIPS is envisioned to enhance the innovation agenda of the country through the appropriate use of intellectual property tools like patents, industrial designs, copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets; and services such as patent information searches to help researchers and scientists in the generation of new ideas that may be protectable by intellectual property towards having new products in the market. This wealth of information could be useful to relevant industries to make available, accessible, and affordable products in the market.

The launch featured speakers such as DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, DOST Secretary Fortunato T. dela Peña, IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago, Dr. William Padolina from the Philippine California Advanced Research Institute. Providing international context were World Intellectual Property Organization Mario Matus, Deputy Director-General for Development, Mr. Ye Min Than, WIPO program officer, and Mr. Hyun-Suk Lim, director of the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), who offered key insights on how national intellectual property strategies helped the development of the Republic of Korea.

Former President Fidel V. Ramos also graced the launch and highlighted the importance of intellectual property in the country.  The Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines was signed into law by former President Ramos.

Protecting Innovation

Director General Santiago said crafting the NIPS will “ensure that we add more value to the various development plans and roadmaps, including creativity and innovation, of the Philippines through the effective use of the IP system.”  She said further that for the country to be able to compete globally, a purposive national policy is needed to transform the Philippines into a knowledge driven and innovative society. 

WIPO Deputy Director General Matus emphasized the importance of the national intellectual property strategy as a long-term plan.  He said that “the national IP strategy should be compatible, coherent, and integrated with the broader development plan of the country.”  He added that “every society can profit from intellectual property and is inextricably linked with innovation.”

 “Today, IP is considered one of the essential ingredients for innovation that can fuel the thrust towards inclusive growth,” said DTI Secretary Ramon M. Lopez. “The NIPS can provide the needed backbone to encourage research and development activities in the academic sector to sustain the growth of science and technology, strategically preparing our industrial and creative sectors to become global players in international markets.

DOST Secretary dela Peña underlined the importance of the NIPS to innovation. “The only effective method of achieving our aspirations of an innovative people is through the adoption of a whole-of-government approach through fully-integrated and responsive science, technology and IP national polices,” he noted. He said that the DOST is aiming for at least 1,000 patent applications to be filed annually before 2022.

Mr. Padolina, as representative of the CHED, underlined the importance of higher education in the push for innovation. “Let us give full support to higher education as part of the enabling environment for innovation in the Philippines.”

Mr.  Hyun-Suk Lim delineated how a cohesive and inclusive national IP strategy has become the backbone of the Republic of Korea’s development. Specifically, the protections afforded by the IP Framework Act of 2011, the Presidential Council on IP, specific customer-tailored processes for patents and trademarks adopted by the KIPO, cooperation with WIPO and other national IP agencies, and other policies have made the Republic of Korea an IP-friendly society that supports innovation.

The National Intellectual Property Strategy of the Philippines is expected to be completed within one year.  It will commence implementation in April 2018 and will be the highlight of next year’s IPR Month.  April has been declared National Intellectual Property Month with the issuance of Proclamation 190 s. 2017 by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte.