THE BOARD of Investments (BoI) and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) have agreed to promote the commercial use of registered intellectual properties by linking these to investors.
The two agencies signed a memorandum of agreement (MoA) on July 23, 2019 for the project, which is also in line with the objective of the BoI to attract more innovation-driven investment.
BoI Managing Head Ceferino S. Rodolfo said his office has been setting record investment approvals over more than 50 years.
“While we continue to outperform ourselves in promoting investments, we still need to attract new investments that are considered ‘innovation drivers’ under the 2017-2019 Investments Priorities Plan (IPP),” he said.
Mr. Rodolfo, who is also Trade undersecretary, enumerated these drivers to include research and development (R&D) activities, conduct of clinical trials, the creation of so-called “Centers of Excellence,” innovation centers, business incubation hubs, fabrication laboratories, and co-working spaces, and the commercialization of new and emerging technologies and products of the Department of Science and Technology or government funded R&D.
Through the MoA, the agency will be part of IPOPHL’s Mind2Market Network, which will tap the existing programs of BoI, such as the One Window Network (OWN) and the Trade and Industry Development (TID) Talks, to create stronger linkages between creators/inventors and investors.
BoI said it had also agreed to create communication channels with IPOPHL “to ease technical consultations on matters related to innovation, including on new and emerging technologies that are registrable with the BoI.”
It said the move would also facilitate the resolution of issues that industry stakeholders might face in the registration, recognition and enforcement of intellectual property rights.
The agency quoted IPOPHL Director General Josephine R. Santiago as saying that the partnership “should excite all creators and innovators.”
“This period is the sunrise of our intellectual property, especially now that we have partnered with formidable agencies such as the BoI. I hope that with the national innovation law that was recently passed and the creation of the national innovation council, we hope to put and enhance value to the innovation agenda of the President,” she said.
BoI said the “patent landscape reports” being prepared by IPOPHL would help the investment promotion agency to identify gaps that require foreign investments to bring technologies into the country. — Victor V. Saulon
