MANILA, Philippines – The country’s continued exclusion from a watchlist for intellectual property (IP) issues is proof that the government remains committed to protecting creatives and entrepreneurs, the Property Office said on Monday. Intellectual Property of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

In a statement, IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba said the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) Special 301 Report that did not include the Philippines on its watch list is a welcome development as it places the country in a good position in terms of landing foreign intellectual property. assets.

“We welcome the USTR’s overall positive assessment of the intellectual property environment in the Philippines. This is further proof that the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines and the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) remain committed to fostering innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship and to preserving the attractiveness of the country as a destination for foreign intellectual property assets to thrive,” said Barba.

“Our continued growth as an intellectual property rights conscious country is evident in these best practices. But our commitment over the past few years to a more secure IP system goes beyond these examples. We have undertaken a wide range of partnerships, capacity building and promotions which have kept us off the USTR watch list for good,” he added.

According to IPOPHL, this is the ninth consecutive year that the Philippines has not appeared on the USTR’s Watch List – which is updated annually to keep its stakeholders informed about intellectual property protection measures and enforcement of intellectual property laws around the world, particularly with its business partners.

Barba noted that NCIPR’s efforts to weed out marketplaces for counterfeit items — like what it did last April at Greenhills Mall in San Juan City — are also helping to change the image of stores in the Philippines as a safe haven. for pirated materials.

“Improvements in our fight against counterfeiting and piracy have always been attributed to our pan-national approach. Intellectual property best practices can start in every business, institution, barangay and right down to our own homes,” Barba explained.

READ: NBI seizes fake Louis Vuitton P63-M products in Greenhills mall

But despite not being on the USTR’s watch list, the 88-page report says the Philippines and other Asian countries are emerging as hubs for counterfeit drugs, citing data from the organization. for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union. Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro Pascua said he is tackling this problem by partnering with the Pharmaceutical Safety Institute (PSI) to create “a framework for capacity building, awareness and exchange of vital information to curb the circulation of counterfeit medicines”.

“The OECD and EUIPO data presented in the publication “Trade in Counterfeit Pharmaceutical Products” dates back to 2014-2016. Thus, it does not take into account subsequent efforts made and more recent data,” Pascua said.

“However, we are strengthening our efforts to ensure that our pharmaceutical industry remains trustworthy and able to combat the effects of counterfeiting,” he added.

JPD

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TAGS: Director General Rowel Barba, foreign intellectual property assets, intellectual property, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, intellectual property rights, IPOPHL, National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights, NCIPR, philippine news, united states trade representative, USTR , USTR Special 301 Report, Watchlist

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