Patent training offered for agri researchers
THE INTELLECTUAL property office said it will conduct patent training for state universities and research institutes working on farm and fishery commodities.
The 17 state universities and colleges and research and development institutions are working on projects prioritized by the Department of Science and Technology’s (DoST) agriculture research council. The schools or institutes are working on commodities like mango, rice, swine, bamboo, dairy cattle, and rubber.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) partnered with DoST to encourage the use of the patent process for agriculture research.
“The use of patent information to gain insight on the advancement of technologies concerning particular fields of interest has been part of IPOPHL’s mission of making IP useful for the masses in concrete and tangible aspects made possible through technology and knowledge transfer. This patent mining project is one example of making IP work in the real world,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said in a statement Monday.
Since July 5, IPOPHL has been working with schools from Cavite, Bohol, Isabela, and parts of Mindanao. Each was selected based on the abundance of the commodities in their regions and their research specializations.
“The IPOPHL’s collaboration with (DoST’s agriculture council) is in the hopes of bringing awareness on patent information as an important resource for developing research projects or funding strategies in various technological clusters even in agriculture,” Mr. Barba said.
“Understanding the patent landscape also helps in identifying collaborators and partners, exploring jumping-off points for R&D activities, supporting a data-informed approach in decision-making and reducing the likelihood of wasting efforts and resources on crowded technological space.”
IPOPHL and DoST previously worked together on identifying global patent data on grants and pending applications that would help make Philippine agriculture more competitive. — Jenina P. Ibañez
