Nearly 500 gov’t partners join Nat’l IP Month by enhancing IP knowledge, culture in workplace
April 27, 2021
Almost 500 employees from different government agencies took part in the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) one-day Masterclass on Intellectual Property (IP), furthering IPOPHL’s goal of building a national culture of respect for IP through a whole-of-government approach.
“IP is a vital factor in national development. As we aim to instill a greater respect for IP rights nationwide, we will need our public servants to spread awareness, be the agents of change themselves, and help them start a culture of IP appreciation within their agencies,” IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua.
“Your presence today has helped us take our whole-of-government strategy to a higher level,” Pascua added.
At the masterclass organized by the IP Academy, participants learned the basics of the IP system and its role in the economic, socio-cultural and technological development of the Philippines.
More specific sessions taught them how to protect marks of government entities and MSMEs; the importance of patents in developing countries in the aspects of health, agriculture and environment; and contemporary issues in protecting and utilizing copyrighted works in the public sector.
A session on the do’s and don’ts on the use of IP is also seen to help them avoid facing infringement cases. The participants were also urged to maintain integrity in the workplace by giving innovators and creators the credit they are due––economically or morally––and seek proper authorization before using their works, whether or not they are from the agency.
“If they encounter issues on patents, trademarks, copyright, and other IP-related matters most common in government service, we hope that they will be able to employ their learnings from the masterclass and overcome any IP-related challenges in the future,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.
Participants were from the Departments of Trade and Industry, of Agriculture, of Education, of Health, of Interior and Local Government, of Science and Technology, of Tourism and of Transportation.
Others who joined were from the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, Commission on Higher Education, Commission on Audit, Cultural Center of the Philippines, Food and Drug Administration Philippines, Film Development Council of the Philippines, National Commission for Culture and the Arts, National Forensic Science Training Institute, Optical Media Board, Philippine Coconut Authority, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
The recently conducted Masterclass is the first out of three that IP Academy has set for National IP Month 2021: the second is tailored for MSMEs (April 26 to 29) while the third, for health care professionals (April 29).### (Janina Lim, Media Relations Officer)
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