Ostensibly invisible. Ubiquitous. Discounting God’s creations and those naturally occurring in nature, just about everything you see around are the products of man’s creativity, ingenuity, curiosity, or necessity for addressing needs. From womb to tomb, from sunrise to sunset, from the moment we wake up and even while asleep, we are exposed to, and using and enjoying, all sorts of intellectual property (IP)—it may even be inside our bodies! Unknowingly, intentionally or not, we may be creating IP.
IP refers to creations of the mind. This may be in the form of an invention, such as a cell phone or medicine; a design, such as that of a chair, a car, or a toothbrush; a name, symbol, or image used in commerce, such as the name of this newspaper or a company logo; literary and artistic works, such as news and editorial articles, films, or computer programs; your mother’s secret recipe for paella; a layout design of integrated circuits, such as those found inside laptops and television sets.
- The IP system. Such creations of the mind are protected as property within an IP system, which is, in turn, carved within in a state’s legal framework. Thus, we have protection for patents, industrial designs, trademarks, copyright, trade secrets, just to name a few. An IP system, likewise, provides rules for the ownership of such creations, from where a bundle of exclusive rights, IP rights, are vested upon the rightful owner.
The Philippine IP system is firmly rooted in our legal infrastructure, originating as early as the Spanish colonial period. Protecting and securing the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and other gifted citizens to their IP and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people is a guarantee of the 1987 Constitution. To breathe life to such guarantees, Congress has passed several laws on IP, the latest being the Intellectual Property Code (Republic Act 8293) and its amendments.
- Why protect IP? An effective intellectual and industrial property system is vital to the development of domestic and creative activity, facilitates transfer of technology, attracts foreign investments, and ensures market access for our products.
More important, the IP system is designed to spur innovation for the progress of humankind. By granting incentives in the form of limited-term exclusive rights, the IP system encourages competitive behavior among the people to pursue innovative and creative activities. On the other hand, IP also serves as a tool for improving the lives of people, as well as promoting public good. The limitations to the exclusive rights conferred by law to the creators of intellectual are mechanisms to ensuring balance of rights between the owner of such rights and the public.
- Celebration of the IPR Month. On April 4 President Duterte signed Proclamation 190 declaring April of every year as National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Month. It stemmed from a felt need to expand the celebration from formerly a week (Proclamation 79, series 1992) to a month, allowing a longer time to hold a series of programs and activities to educate various sectors of the public and raise appreciation for the relevance of IPRs. Its cross-cutting importance in the economic competitiveness of the country cannot be stressed enough: IP involves not only various business sectors, but also the health and safety industry sectors; creative, innovation, as well as research and development sectors; inventors and other stakeholders, consumers and enforcement efforts, among others.
Likewise, April is also host to international celebrations involving IP: the World Book and Copyright Day every April 23, and the World Intellectual Property Day every April 26; thus, moving the celebration to April is strategic.
- National IPR Month activities. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) as the lead agency in this celebration, has lined up activities for the public: April 26 is the launch of the photo contest with the theme, “Filipino Innovations: Improving Lives”; the World Book and Copyright Day Celebration will be held at the Quezon City Circle. April 26 is the launching of online filing system for patents—completing the IPOPHL’s range of online filing services for trademarks, utility models and industrial design applications.
For more information about our activities this month and on intellectual property, visit www.ipophil.gov.ph.
Josephine Rima-Santiago, Ll. M., is currently the director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines. She has had more than 20 years of extensive experience in IP as a public servant, educator, practitioner and researcher. She may be reached through mail@ipophil.gov.ph.