THE PHILIPPINE intellectual property (IP) office has taken on the chairmanship of an ASEAN IP group developing unified regional trademark, patent, and industrial design systems.
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Rowel S. Barba officially assumed leadership of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) on March 25, the agency said in a statement Sunday.
More than 80% of the group’s 2016-2025 action plan is completed, IPOPHL said.
Until his chairmanship ends in 2023, Mr. Barba is in charge of leading the group’s remaining work, including putting up unified regional systems on trademark, patents, and industrial designs.
The group also plans to develop regional databases to put together a network of copyright information, genetic resources like plant varieties, and traditional knowledge passed on in communities.
The ASEAN group also plans to work on exchanging information on online IP enforcement and to continue working on international standards for collective management organizations in the creative sector.
“We call on our fellow AWGIPC members to renew your commitment, intensify your cooperation with everyone, the ASEAN Secretariat and our partners, and to continue the support that we have been giving each other in the last four years,” Mr. Barba said. — Jenina P. Ibanez
