Aiming to establish an effective intellectual property (IP) landscape in the country and encourage generation of innovative products, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director-General Rowel S. Barba, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez, and Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato T. Dela Peña enter into a strong partnership by signing the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Science and Technology Superhighway Program on November 17, 2020 at 8AM through the Zoom platform.
The MOA serves as a collaboration among the agencies to facilitate and fast-track processes from filing to registration/grant and protection of IP rights particularly for inventions, utility models (UMs), industrial designs (IDs) and trademarks (TMs) which resulted from DOST-supported researches, studies, and innovations. This is primarily developed to prevent IP theft in different business sectors.
To provide a more coherent and systematic IP protection process, the IPOPHL is expected to provide technical advice on policies and requirements and expedite processing of applications. On the other hand, the DOST is assigned to institutionalize a centralized system for filing and monitoring of applications from DOST institutions. Lastly, the DTI is expected to link micro, small and medium (MSMEs) with DOST for support on IP assets protection. Indeed, these responsibilities lead to a “SciTech Superhighway” for innovation and development.
From 2015 to August 2020, the DOST Technology Application and Promotion Institute (TAPI) had assisted a total of 1025 UM applications, 434 ID applications, 149 patent applications, and 159 trademark applications. Now, through the SciTech Superhighway, a total of 400 UM applications, 400 ID applications, 150 patent applications, and 100 TM applications will be covered by express processing, given the endorsement from DOST.
DOST, together with the concerned agencies, will continue exploring possibilities and partnerships to accelerate and improve the IP technology in the country.
