Highlighting IPOPHL’s achievements, former Undersecretary of Commerce for IP and Director of the USPTO Kathi Vidal cited the boost from the leadership of IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba.

“Your leadership on this achievement and on a range of other IP-related matters, has helped position IPOPHL as an influential IP office in the Asia Pacific region and internationally,” Vidal said in an official email correspondence informing of her resignation early December. 

Vidal underscored IPOPHL’s achievement in securing USPTO designation as a competent International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) under the Patent Cooperation Treaty.

This catapulted IPOPHL to the prestige of being one of the few IP offices designated by the USPTO. The others were major IP offices such as the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), European Patent Office (EPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO), IP Australia (IPAU), IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) and Israel Patent Office (ILPO).

Vidal also extended her appreciation for IPOPHL’s hard work and dedicated service during its chairmanship at the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and the APEC Intellectual Property Experts Group (IPEG).

“While under your leadership, we made real progress on issues of consequence to APEC economies,” she added. 

Through his three-point AIM strategy—short for “Accelerating the completion of deliverables,” “Intensifying coordination,” and “Modernizing processes through digital transformation”—Barba effectively addressed bottlenecks hindering shared goals. Under his leadership, 75% of the 57 deliverables in the bloc’s 10-year roadmap were achieved, a remarkable leap from the 38% completion rate when he assumed the role at the AWGIPC.

Beyond his work at the AWGIPC, Barba spearheaded significant reforms as the head of the ASEAN Network of IP Enforcement Experts (ANIEE) and the APEC-IPEG.

At ANIEE, he strengthened coordination among enforcement agencies across ASEAN member states and bolstered their capacity to combat counterfeit trade and online piracy.

In the broader APEC region, Barba elevated IPOPHL’s regional influence by leading inclusive discussions. He also paved the way for actionable outcomes that promote innovation and creativity while considering the diverse development levels of member economies.

IPOPHL also lauded Vidal and the USPTO for their commitment in advancing collaboration, innovation and inclusivity within the IP landscape, underscoring their impact in strengthening international cooperation.

Barba also expressed gratitude to the USPTO’s “consistent and active engagement” with the AWGIPC and the APEC-IPEG. 

“Your Office’s contributions have been invaluable in fostering meaningful discussions and advancing collective goals across the ASEAN and APEC regions,” IPOPHL said. 

“To gain the trust of one of the world’s top five IP offices and frontrunners in innovation is a groundbreaking feat for IPOPHL,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said at the signing of the designation on March 6 at the USPTO headquarters. 

“IPOPHL joins some of the biggest IP offices in being designated, namely the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), European Patent Office (EPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO), IP Australia (IPAU), IP Office of Singapore (IPOS) and Israel Patent Office (ILPO).”

“For years since elevating to ISA/IPEA status in 2017, IPOPHL has been streamlining and harmonizing its quality management policies to ensure the accuracy, comprehensiveness and timeliness of our search and examination reports. Today, we reap the rewards of that hard work with, welcomingly, more work which we are ready to take on as we expect more countries to designate IPOPHL and more inventors to harness IPOPHL’s ISA/IPEA services,” he added.

It may be recalled that in 2017 WIPO contracting states unanimously endorsed IPOPHL to be designated as an ISA/IPEA. With this, IPOPHL is given the authority to conduct search and preliminary examination of applications filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). IPOPHL commenced its operation as ISA/IPEA in May 2019, serving as the competent international authority for applicants in the Philippines. For local inventors, having an ISA/IPEA closer to home meant enjoying easier and faster coordination. 

As an ISA/IPEA, IPOPHL issues international search reports that identify the patent documents and technical literature as relevant prior art, and draws up a written opinion that details how these prior art may affect an invention’s patentability. When applicants amend their patent application in light of the findings in the written opinion, they are then allowed to request an international preliminary examination as an additional patentability analysis.

ISA/IPEA services, especially when delivered on time, could help streamline patent applications when they enter the national phase as the work of national IP offices are significantly reduced to focus on the prior art in the national context. 

In its latest PCT Yearly Review, WIPO shows that  IPOPHL maintains efficiency in producing international search reports, with timeliness ratings of 80% for international search reports transmitted within three months from request and 100% for international search reports transmitted within the nine-months deadline. These rates are above those of other ISA/IPEA offices.

“The capability to draw up these reports in a timely manner shows our access to a whole array of robust databases and literature and, most importantly, the skills of our patent examiners to conduct quality examinations at a relatively faster turnaround time,” Barba said.

The USPTO designation lasts for eight years and is subject for renewal depending on IPOPHL’s compliance with operating terms.

IPOPHL is one out of only 24 operating ISA/IPEAs worldwide and is second in the ASEAN region to function as such.