The Advisory Council on Intellectual Property (ACIP), chaired by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), held its second quarter meeting on June 20, 2023 to expand its collaborative activities in promoting intellectual property (IP) creation, protection, utilization, enforcement and long-term financial sustainability.
At the meeting, held at the Intellectual Property Center, the Executive Committee of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) discussed the agency’s strategic priorities and breakthrough goals for the year. The 12-member ACIP, the multi-sectoral governance council of IPOPHL identified programs, activities and projects from among those mentioned that they commit to champion and see through.
Among the major projects presented is the roll-out of the master’s program on IP Management which will be carried out jointly by the De La Salle University, Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the IP Academy – the research and professionalization arm of IPOPHL.
IPOPHL also reported progress in ACIP’s goal of capacitating 20 new state universities and colleges to become innovation centers that promote innovation and tourism in partnership with CHED.
Meanwhile, certain issues have also been raised at the meeting, such as the lack of market intelligence which could pave the way for a more definite valuation and licensing structure for IP assets. Such valuation is critical for startups and innovators to provide venture capitalists and investors a picture of their technology’s value and overall profitability.
The Asian Institute of Management – Dado Banatao Incubator (AIM-DBI) assured an abundance of local talent that could build a database and provide the resources in helping exact the appropriate range of pricing for different IP-protected technologies.
The Department of Science and Technology’s Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI) also committed to help in improving IP valuation capacities and, overall, expand the country’s IP outputs for a higher knowledge capital score under the Global Innovation Index (GII). Knowledge capital is part of the pillars of the GII which ranks economies based on their capacities, environments and successes in innovation.
The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) highlighted that, under the Philippine Development Plan 2023 – 2028, the Philippines aims to rise in the GII from its 2022 rank of 59th to 43rd by 2028. To help achieve the PDP goal, IPOPHL and the DOST-TAPI will be finding ways to streamline processes for creating and registering IPs, including the continuation of the Science and Technology Superhighway, which provides express lanes for DOST-funded technologies.
In the creatives sector, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) expressed support in helping IPOPHL promote copyright registration while the Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines, Inc. (SIKAP) lauded IPOPHL’s educational activities to fill in artists’ wide knowledge gap on IP. However, SIKAP stressed the need for IPOPHL to reach out to more artists.
Other members present, namely the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime, Licensing Executives Society Philippines, Royal Pineda + Architectural Design and the DLSU Innovation and Technology Office, expressed their continued support to the goals of ACIP and committed to coordinate more closely with members to deliver outcomes.
Advancing in the Performance Governance System
The 6th ACIP meeting also highlights the formal conferment of the Performance Governance System (PGS) Proficient Status with a Silver Trailblazer Award, which IPOPHL bagged at the Public Revalida held in October 2022. The Institute for Solidarity in Asia (ISA), the accrediting body of the PGS, handed the award to IPOPHL.
ISA Chairman Evaristo S. Francisco, Jr. said this important milestone affirms “the immense potential that lies within IPOPHL to drive transformative change in the innovative landscape of the Philippines.”
“In a world where innovation and creativity fuel progress, the role of organizations like IPOPHL is indispensable. IPOPHL has long been in the forefront in ensuring that the exclusive rights of artists, inventors and other gifted individuals are protected,” Francisco added.
The Performance Governance System (PGS) is an adaptation of the Harvard Business School’s (Norton and Kaplan’s) Balance Scorecard, a performance management tool towards better and more efficient governance.
This year, IPOPHL is preparing to comply with the last stage of the PGS which works on institutionalizing the reforms.
Director General Rowel S. Barba said the agency is driven to transition to a “strategy-focused government agency responsive to the needs of stakeholders by delivering breakthrough results.”
“We will continue to dedicate ourselves to institutionalizing the hallmarks of good governance within IPOPHL and we hope to mark the end of our PGS journey on a high note, specifically, with a gold award this time,” Barba added, thanking partners for their unwavering support for IPOPHL’s PGS journey.