PH maintains positive standing on intellectual property rights enforcement
in USTR’s 2019 Special 301 Watch List
The Philippines for the sixth year, has maintained its good standing in intellectual property rights protection with the United States, as the United States Trade Representative has kept it out of the 2019 Special 301 Watch List, reported the Philippines’ intellectual property office.
Thie (USTR) has continuously kept the Philippines out of this list since 2014, which is an annually drawn-up list of economies with weak enforcement and protection of intellectual property of the United States.
“It is but fitting that we’ve gotten this news as we’re capping off April as the National Intellectual Property Rights Month. This recognition signifies our intellectual property system is headed in the right direction. While this is very welcome news, there’s still much to be done in strengthening the IP system as a whole. We won’t be resting on our laurels; it is a continuing challenge to develop a culture of respect for intellectual property,” said IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago.
The Philippine government, through IPOPHL, submitted its comments to the USTR last February 2019, reporting on ongoing initiatives on IPR protection, promotion, and enforcement, as well as the general state of the Philippine intellectual property system.
This was assessed by the USTR in determining the country’s placement in the USTR Special 301 Watch List.
Among the gains the IPOPHL reported on are:
Renewed MOU with the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (IPO) on strengthening IP Enforcement
Continued workshops & projects with the European IP Office on IP enforcement capacity building.
Enforcement-related legislative amendments to the IP Code including increasing of penalties and imprisonment period for IP infringement, and the ‘notice and takedown’ authority provision, giving the Director General the authority with respect to blocking access to websites and/or the “taking down” of infringing materials and articles posted online.
To recall, the NCIPR hauled in P 23.6 billion worth of counterfeit and pirated goods in 2018, the largest seizure in the inter-agency body’s decade-long history.
The county was first listed in the USTR Special 301 Watch List in 1994, and gradually eased out of its “Priority Watch List” category to the regular “Watch List” until it was finally removed in 2014.
The USTR’s Special 301 Report aims to push countries to better adhere to intellectual property rights standards, by identifying US trading partners which it considers to have a weak IP protection and enforcement system.