THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said it is watching filing activity closely during the month-long COVID-19 lockdown to assess whether it can sustain the pace of registrations.
”While we hope we could sustain the filings growth, we are still weighing how the COVID-19 outbreak will influence filing activities in the Philippines. We are closely monitoring experiences in other countries to get a glimpse of what to expect. There is one IP office that is reported to have a slowdown while one reports a surge particularly in trademark filings as businesses scramble to associate their trading names with ‘corona,’ riding on the popularity of the virus. We hope to get a fuller view of its impact middle of this year,” it said in a statement.
IPOPHL Director-General Rowel S. Barba said in the statement Wednesday that the office is still weighing whether it can sustain the record pace of filings seen in 2019.
“There is one IP office that is reported to have a slowdown while one reports a surge particularly in trademark filings as businesses scramble to associate their trading names with ‘corona’… We hope to get a fuller view of its impact middle of this year,” he said.
IPOPHL received a record number of filings for intellectual property protection in 2019 of 47,282 applications, up 10%, most of them trademark filings totalling 39,399.
Most of the filings involved agricultural products and services, followed by pharmaceuticals, health, and cosmetics. This was followed by scientific research, information and communication technology, management, communications, real estate, financial services, and textiles.
Industrial design applications grew 7% to 1,631 from a year earlier, with top filings in transport or hoisting; furnishing; packages and containers for the transport or handling of goods; fluid distribution equipment, sanitary, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning equipment, solid fuel; and graphic symbols and logos, surface patterns, and ornamentation.
Residents accounted for 60% of trademark filings and 62% of industrial design filings.
Utility model filings rose 4% to 2,228. The top filings were seen in food chemistry; basic materials chemistry; handling; furniture, games; and pharmaceuticals.
Patent filings grew 2% to 4,024 in 2019, with top filings in pharmaceuticals; organic fine chemistry; biotechnology; digital communication; and food chemistry.
Copyright deposits fell 7.55% to 1,862.
IPOPHL said that filings at its satellite offices grew 17% to 4,616, and filings at Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSOs) in universities and colleges grew 13.96% to 1,624
The office said that the 2019 growth was supported by its Patent Landscape Reports (PLR) presented to industry stakeholders.
“PLRs outline the technological trends and competition in a particular field of technology to help assist local industries and research and development institutions in their commercial decisions.” — Jenina P. Ibañez
