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Effects of plain packaging on the Intellectual Property Rights of stakeholders

The world is now waiting for the World Trade Organization’s decision on the validity of plain packaging measures on tobacco products in Australia. If found to be valid, this could have a huge impact, not only on the tobacco products, but to other consumer goods deemed dangerous to health.

Plain packaging measures arise from the government’s legitimate interest and duty to protect and improve public health through the reduction of health risks associated with the consumption of certain products (e.g., alcohol, tobacco, etc.) which may have adverse effects on an individual’s health.

Australia is the first country to have a comprehensive plain packaging law, and it requires that all outer surfaces of tobacco retail packaging be in a specified color. The law also prohibits use of tobacco industry logo, brand imagery, colors, and promotional text on tobacco products and retail packaging, other than the brand and variant names which must appear in a standard color, position, font style and size.

While the Philippines, at present, does not have any formal plan of adopting plain packaging measures, some groups have pushed for the same. At present, we only have a Graphic Health Warning law which requires graphic health warnings on the bottom 50% of the front and back of tobacco packages, and a ban on misleading descriptors. However, should the WTO favor the Australian government in its implementation of plain packaging measures, it is foreseen that other countries will follow suit.

WTO’s impending pronouncement will also have an effect on other industries which manufacture or produce products deemed dangerous to health.

In a recent discussion sponsored by the International Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, Mike Ridgway of the Consumer Packaging Manufacturers Alliance mentioned that in other countries, there is a call to apply plain packaging not only to tobacco products, but to other products such as alcohol, junk food, soft drinks, and even on cereal boxes.

Clearly, plain packaging will change the landscape of how these industries will now conduct their business, especially on how they market their brand.

While the purpose of the plain packaging law is commendable, plain packaging may be said to restrict, if not totally remove, the use of brand names, logos, or product design elements from the packaging of products. Plain packaging measures will deprive a trademark owner of protection of its intellectual property rights. Such measures will erode more than a century of intellectual property protection, according to a letter sent by the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association to the WTO.

With the implementation of plain packaging measures and because of the uniformity in appearance and packaging, consumers are likely to perceive products as similar in terms of quality and characteristics.

Thus, price will become the primary distinguishing and competing factor, and producers will be forced to cut prices at the expense of a product’s quality and innovation. Moreover, due to the lack of distinctiveness, infringers will be encouraged to pass off or infringe the trademarks as it would be easier for counterfeiters to reproduce such plain packaging.

In view of the impact to the intellectual property rights of trademark owners, plain packaging measures may be considered to adversely affect the intellectual property rights of trademark owners.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author. This article is for general informational and educational purposes and not offered as and does not constitute legal advice or legal opinion.

 

Joan Janneth M. Estremadura is an Associate of the Intellectual Property Department of the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (ACCRALAW).

830-8000

jmestremadura@accralaw.com.

Palace assures probe on retired priest’s murder, but cautions against ‘political killing’ tag

MALACAÑANG ON Tuesday assured the public that the Philippine National Police (PNP) will investigate the murder of Nueva Ecija priest Fr. Marcelino “Tito” Paez, but cautioned against labeling the crime as a “political killing”. “Like all killings, they will be investigated by police authorities. And if there’s sufficient evidence to charge anyone, then authorities are duty-bound to file the necessary information,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr said in a press briefing. However, he said, “(W)e do not know yet if this is a political killing pursuant to the definition of the Supreme Court on extralegal killings … which is a killing of political activist and a killing of journalist,” he said. Mr. Paez, a former parish priest in Guimba and currently coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines in Central Luzon, was shot on Monday while driving at San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija. Earlier that day, Mr. Paez assisted in facilitating the release of political prisoner Rommel Tucay detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) in Cabanatuan. Administrative Order No. 35 defines extrajudicial or political killings as those wherein the victim was “a member of, or affiliated with an organization, to include political, environment, agrarian, labor, or media practitioner, or person(s) apparently mistaken or identified to be so. — Rosemarie A. Zamora

PCC approves four M&A transactions

THE Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) recently approved four merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions involving local and multinational firms operating in the country. 

In a decision penned Dec. 1, the PCC said it will take no further action on the $66-billion deal between Bayer AG and United States-based seeds group Monsanto Company that would potentially create the world’s largest integrated pesticide and seeds company. 

Bayer’s takeover of Monsanto is expected to be completed in early 2018. Monsanto has a local unit in the Philippines, and is the largest agrochemical company in the world with a 25% share of the global proprietary seed market. 

In its decision, the PCC said “there appears to be sufficient competitive constraints from other market participants on the merged firm post-transaction in the markets for vegetable seeds and non-selective herbicides. 

At the same time, the PCC gave the green light for K.K. Pangea to proceed with its acquisition of shares in Toshiba Memory Corp. from its parent, Toshiba Corp. for ¥2 trillion. K.K Pangea is a special purpose company owned by Bain Capital Private Equity. 

The approval comes as the PCC noted that transaction will leave no material impact on Toshiba’s operations in the Philippines. 

In a separate decision, the competition watchdog has also approved Allfirst Equity Holdings, Inc.’s proposal to consolidate ownership of the Philippine Geothermal Production Company, Inc. (PGPC).

The transaction will be made through its affiliate ACEHI Star Holdings, Inc., which will be acquiring the interest of Union Oil Company of California, Inc. in Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings, LLC. (CGPH), which in turn holds a minority stake in PGPC: 

Prior to the transaction, Allfirst already had a 60% interest in PGPC, while the remaining 40% is held by CGPH. 

The PCC said that the “does not appear that there will be any change in control of the relevant operating entity post-transaction.”

TQMP Glass Manufacturing Corp. (TQMP)’s purchase of the entirety of AGC Flat Glass Philippines, Inc. (AGPH)’s shares in Asahi Glass Co. Ltd has likewise been approved. This will allow TQMP to enter into the manufacturing and sale of flat glass, as AGPH is engaged in this business.

The PCC is tasked to review all mergers and transactions valued over P1 billion to ensure that the deal does not hamper competition in the market. — Arra B. Francia

At LA Auto Show, luxury means electric mobility, large SUVs

SUCCESS used to come easily for BMW, whose sporty sedans in three sizes would be snapped up by affluent consumers.

But the premium auto business has now become more complicated, as illustrated by the BMW models displayed at the Los Angeles Auto Show (ongoing until Dec. 10), amid a backdrop of heavy spending by luxury car brands on new models and technology as they make awkward leaps from a predictable past to an uncertain future.

On one side of BMW’s display stands a prototype of the X7, a vehicle that was unthinkable in the brand’s lineup a few years ago when the top-of-the-line model was still defined as a large sedan. On the other side, BMW displayed the i Vision, a prototype of an electric sedan that will rival Silicon Valley electric luxury car maker Tesla, Inc.’s Model S when the production version launches in 2021.

“This is the future,” said Bernhard Kuhnt, the new head of BMW’s North American operations, referring to the i Vision Dynamics and electric vehicles in general.

More immediately, Mr. Kuhnt said, the X7 represents BMW’s determination to offer more SUVs, which now account for more than half of luxury vehicle sales in the US, to reverse a 4% slide in sales this year through October.

“In October, we sold 60% sedans in a market that is 55% SUVs,” he said.

But next year, as BMW’s US dealers get more newly redesigned X3s and the new X2, the SUV-to-sedan ratio will start to flip, and sales should grow, Mr. Kuhnt said.

BMW’s rivals are at different points in their own jumps from the strategies that fueled growth during the past two decades. The type of vehicle that defines the top end for German luxury brands shows how the business is changing.

“The classic definition of the standard bearer as a three-box sedan — that is migrating in three directions,” said Scott Keogh, head of Audi’s US operations. One direction, he said, is “electrification as the new prestige,” a trend driven by Tesla.

Rivals at other established luxury brands agreed during interviews at the LA show that some form of electric power — fully electric or plug-in hybrids — is now necessary in order to compete.

“The US is a market where customers are asking for electric vehicles,” Hakan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars, said in an interview on the sidelines of the LA auto show. “That’s a premium value — to be carbon free.”

Volvo has said it will engineer all its vehicles to rely on full or partial electric power starting in 2019.

Another way the market is veering away from sedans is with the rise of the large luxury SUVs, now available in most premium brands at prices that can easily top $100,000. Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India’s Tata Motors Ltd, is displaying a $207,900, 557hp Range Rover at the LA show. Audi plans to launch a Q8 SUV next year that will add a more luxurious SUV to the top of its US lineup, Keogh said. Two large luxury SUVs are now sold for each large luxury sedan, Audi reckoned.

Mercedes-Benz brand used the Los Angeles show to debut an example of a third trend. The new generation of the Mercedes CLS coupe joins the Audi A7 and the Porsche Panamera in a stable of large, premium, sporty fastbacks. Not to be outdone, BMW is displaying a large, sleek coupe of its own, the 8 Series. — Reuters

Golf World Cup returning to Melbourne

SYDNEY — The World Cup of Golf will be held in Melbourne for a third consecutive time in 2018, organizers said Tuesday, with 28 teams teeing off at the Metropolitan club.

US PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said it was a no-brainer to bring the tournament back to the region’s famed Sandbelt courses.

“Golf in the Sandbelt region speaks for itself, and we appreciate the Metropolitan Golf Club opening its doors for this historic team event,” he said.

Denmark will be defending their title after Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen proved the perfect blend of flamboyant youth and wily experience for a shock triumph in 2016.

Twenty-eight two-man teams will represent their countries from Nov. 21-25 for the 59th edition of the tournament — the only event in which top golfers come together and compete for their countries outside of the Olympics.

The highest-ranked player from each country is able to choose his playing partner, which organizers say “maximizes the camaraderie and competitive spirit.”

It will continue with the same format from 2016, with the first and third days of competition played as four-ball (best ball) format and the second and final days as foursomes (alternate shot) play. — AFP

Agri exporters urged to target Russian market

THE GOVERNMENT said exporters — especially those in the agriculture sector — should set their sights on Russia where the opportunities for expansion are promising, a trade official said.

The head of the Philippine Trade and Investment Center’s London office and commercial attache Anne Marie Kristine C. Umali said on Tuesday during the National Export Congress in Pasay City that President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s pivot to non-traditional trade partners provides exporters with opportunities in new markets. 

“I’ve been to St. Petersburg and Vladivostok. There are vast opportunities. In fact, just last night, a buyer was looking to source coconut products. There are other opportunities for fresh pineapple and banana and others,” she added.

In October, the Department of Agriculture and its Russian counterpart signed a deal involving Russian purchases of agricultural products worth $2.5 billion. Last month, the Philippines and Russia also signed eight agreements related to trade and energy.

Ms. Umali said that as of 2016 Russia is 33rd in terms of total trade with the Philippines — the 39th largest export destination and the 32nd largest source of imports.

“I’d also like to note that total trade with them is only $234 million. There’s really a lot of room to grow,” she added.

She said the opportunities are also pressing due to the sanctions regime in 2014 which restricted food imports from the US, the European Union and selected countries.

“Just to note, we [also] have a GSP — generalized system of preferences — that exporters can also take advantage of. We have a Euro-Asian economic community (EuAsEC)… [This means] zero to reduced tariff rates [for selected products],” she added.

The GSP from EuAsEC  became effective in 2010, with the Philippines being one of the 103 developing countries that are beneficiaries of the program.

Some of the products which qualify for little to no tariffs are meat and seafood, dairy products, vegetables, fruits and nuts, coffee, tea, spices, rice, sauces and condiments, medicaments, natural rubber, wood products and imitation jewelry. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato

Preempting a looming power crisis

It is said that if hindsight is a perfect science, that makes scientists of our country’s national leaders and bureaucrats. In administration after administration, the would’ve-could’ve-should’ve syndrome has been a familiar affliction. Everyone — particularly those in the legislature and in Malacañang — have been experts on how a crisis would have, could have and should have been avoided if “someone” had acted promptly and efficiently.

Sadly, these buck-passers won’t admit that they could have and should have anticipated and acted on the crisis — but didn’t.

Well. Another crisis is looming. And this time it can be and should be avoided. It’s also an opportunity for this government to show that it knows how to manage national affairs, beyond liquidating drug suspects and conducting fruitless legislative investigations.

CNN Philippines has just run a five-part series on the threatening power crisis, entitled, “Powering the Future.” This time, it is a prospective rather than a retrospective situation confronting the government’s energy czars, as well as the legislature and President Rodrigo Duterte. A situation they can and should promptly act on.

Much has already been said about past power problems that plagued the country, going back to the administrations of presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos. Our leaders should already have learned the bitter lessons from the insufferable brownouts, the corrosive effect on the national treasury, and the negative impact on the country’s investment prospects and infrastructure programs — lessons that ought to prompt them to act expeditiously and efficiently this time around.

The CNN reports are persuasive:

1. The country’s current dependable power reserve is very low at five to 10% compared to other Asian countries, like Singapore with reserves at 50%.

2. During summer, power outages become unavoidable as supply grapples with the seasonal spike in electricity usage. Offices and households need more cooling appliances, and establishments have to cope with increased tourism activities. These, on top of regular household and business power consumption.

3. The Philippines’ power demand has been increasing at a rate of five to eight percent annually, one positive reason being the country’s strong economic growth.

4. The country’s ambitious 2017 to 2022 infrastructure plans and the growth of the power-intensive manufacturing sector will further add pressure on supply.

5. What makes the chronic power supply problem worse is the near depletion of the Malampaya Natural Gas Facility which provides 30% of Luzon’s total capacity of 11,218 megawatts (MW). The facility’s gas reserves are expected to run out starting in 2024, posing a serious power supply shortfall.

6. Note that a power deficit of 100 MW can result in a one-hour daily rotational brownout.

So, how can these obvious problems be addressed and the looming crisis averted? Again, the CNN report proposes solutions that any reasonably intelligent and diligent bureaucrat would, could and should understand:

1. Build more power plants as soon as possible. This would, could and should ensure the steady supply of electricity needed to meet the growing energy demand.

2. Get rid of the disincentives for private sector investments in power plants, mainly, the red tape that unbelievably requires five years. COUNT THEM, FIVE YEARS to process an application for a permit to build a power plant. A power plant investor also needs to secure 162 clearances and 102 permits before any work can start on a facility. COUNT THEM: 162 CLEARANCES AND 102 PERMITS.

Mercifully, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, who has had hands-on commercial and industrial management involvement and expertise, has filed a bill to nip the bureaucratic red tape in securing power plant permits. He proposes the Energy Virtual One-Stop Shop (E-VOSS), a Web site for all power plants in the country, that will allow a prospective investor to submit documents electronically, monitor the status and pay fees online.

The bill will also impose a 30-day deadline to approve a specific permit. The entire process will be shortened to one-and-a-half years, at the most. That’s still a long time in view of the looming crisis but infinitely faster than five years.

Another promising development is the technology-neutral policy that has been adopted by the Department of Energy. This policy promotes various energy sources such as solar, geothermal, wind and hydro, and also includes coal and oil. The objective is to make power supply cost-efficient and reliable.

This is good news for current and potential coal power plant investors. Coal-fired power plants generate a third of the country’s dependable power supply and coal happens to be the most abundant, most reliable and least-cost fuel in the country.

Concerns have been raised about coal, in view of the climate change crisis, but proponents say that the problem can be minimized, with strict observance of the conditions in the Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC), which covers pollution, waste water and tree cutting. The emergence of the so-called clean coal technology could also reduce carbon emissions.

Renewable and environmentally ideal energy sources, like solar and wind, while expensive and difficult to set up, offer the prospects of a more sustainable energy program in the long run. These should not be overlooked.

Anticipating the country’s power needs and promptly acting on them should be given high priority by the government. While hindsight is a perfect science, foresight is better proof of government efficiency and commitment to public service.

 

Greg B. Macabenta is an advertising and communications man shuttling between San Francisco and Manila and providing unique insights on issues from both perspectives.

gregmacabenta@hotmail.com

There are 159,766 dengue vaccine recipients in Central Visayas

THE DEPARTMENT of Health (DoH) in Region 7 (Central Visayas) has heightened surveillance of thousands of children who have received the controversial Dengvaxia vaccine. DoH-7 Director Jaime S. Bernadas said health personnel are gathering the profiles of at least 159,766 children, which is almost half of the total number of eligible recipients during the first round of vaccination. “We have alerted all our partners which are the local government units (through their respective) rural health units and city health offices to intensify surveillance of our children immunized,” Mr. Bernadas told reporters Monday, Dec. 4. The DoH central office has suspended the dengue vaccination program following analysis that the vaccine Dengvaxia poses risk to those without prior infection but have received it. Mr. Bernadas said concerned health units have also been notified of the suspension, and distribution of the vaccine has been put on hold. The second round of dengue vaccination was supposed to start this month in Cebu province, the fourth pilot area next to the three identified highly endemic regions, namely: Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the National Capital Region. — The Freeman

Winnie-the-Pooh to bear all in London show

LONDON — Paddington Bear may have captivated cinema audiences this year, but another ursine star, Winnie-the-Pooh, will get his own show at London’s historic V&A museum this month.

Winnie-the-Pooh: Exploring a Classic which opens this week features around 230 works and artefacts dating from 1920 onwards, including original illustrations and manuscripts, such as E.H. Shepard’s first portraits of the honey-loving bear.

The exhibition is not the first examination of real-life inspirations for Winnie-the-Pooh this year, with a Hollywood film, Goodbye Christopher Robin, telling the story of A.A. Milne and his family while he was creating the character.

The V&A is hoping to attract more young families through its doors and one of the exhibition’s curators Emma Laws felt that Pooh, who turned 90 last year, was the perfect bear for the job. “Everybody loves Winnie-the-Pooh, he’s inter-generational, so this is a chance for everybody,” Laws told Reuters

In addition to memorabilia, the exhibition examines the real people and places behind the stories — Milne’s son Christopher who served as the inspiration for Christopher Robin, and Ashdown Forest in Sussex, which inspired the Hundred Acre Wood.

“Winnie-the-Pooh is a very simple, evocative sort of world in which you want children to be able to get fully immersed in the imagination of going into the Hundred Acre Wood,” exhibition designer Tom Piper said. “So we wanted to make it immersive in lots of different ways. So there’s digital immersion, but equally we’ve created huge hand-painted, five meter-high versions of the Hundred Acre Wood, (so) that you can really get the atmosphere of the place.”

Not everyone has such fond childhood memories of Pooh and his pals, however, Milne’s son Christopher wrote in a memoir that he had a difficult relationship with the character, and had suffered bullying at school as a result of the books. — Reuters

LaVar pulls son from college program

LOS ANGELES — LaVar Ball said on Monday he will withdraw his son LiAngelo from the college basketball program at UCLA in protest at his suspension for shoplifting in China.

LiAngelo was one of three UCLA players arrested in China earlier this month and later released after the intervention of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He was later suspended indefinitely by UCLA over what became an international incident and led to a war of words been LaVar and President Donald Trump.

LaVar, however, told ESPN on Monday he was withdrawing his son from UCLA.

“We are exploring other options with Gelo,” LaVar told ESPN. “He’s out of there.” “I’m not sitting back and waiting. “He wasn’t punished this bad in China. We get back over here and the consequences were even stiffer than China. So basically they’re in jail here.”

LaVar said LiAngelo would not transfer to another school but would rather concentrate on entering the 2018 NBA draft.

LiAngelo is the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, who joined the NBA powerhouse this year after playing one season at UCLA. — AFP

New SUVs set to head Peugeot PHL’s lineup

THREE SUVs — the all-new 3008, latest 2008 and the 5008, which had transitioned from its previous MPV version — is set to head Peugeot’s lineup in the Philippines. The domestic distributor of the French brand, Peugeot Philippines, said the release of all three models is “in line with the PSA Group’s global SUV offensive.”

Peugeot is part of PSA Group, the Paris, France-based manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles under which Peugeot, Citroen, DS, Opel and Vauxhaul belong.

Calling the recently introduced models as “a new breed of SUVs,” Peugeot Philippines President Glen P. Dasig said the latest range ”represents the brand’s bold move into the future.”

Of the three models, the 3008 and the 2008 are already available in the Philippines. The 3008 was directly presented by Peugeot Philippines to its customers even before the model was launched — a novel marketing move Mr. Dasig noted is proving to be more effective for Peugeot’s niche market locally. The 5008, for its part, is scheduled to be launched in the “first quarter of 2018,” according to the executive, who added that pre-selling for the model will “start in January.”

The brand admitted it had arrived “late in the SUV game,” but this, according to Mr. Dasig, gave Peugeot the “advantage to rethink some conventional ideas and notions about the growing segment.”

UNIQUE FEATURES
The company said the models feature a “unique design language” to mark a compact frame that can be lengthened or shortened, depending on the vehicle in which it is used, while ensuring a spacious cabin. This, Peugeot said, allows its vehicles to “look athletic and agile on the outside while maintaining the same degree of space and comfort found on conventional SUVs.”

“Being design experts, Peugeot’s engineers have found a way to trim off the excess bulk that makes an SUV aesthetically big and imposing without sacrificing space. This contributes to a more distinct, svelte figure that forms part of a very attractive silhouette,” Mr. Dasig explained.

Standard in the new SUVs is Peugeot’s iCockpit, basically a control pod for the vehicles’ convenience functions, some of which can be customized to suit personal preferences.

ENGINE CHOICES
Two gasoline engines are initially offered with the new SUVs. The first is the 1.6-liter high-pressure turbocharged unit found on the 3008, while the other is the 1.2-liter Puretech three-cylinder engine that runs the 2008.

“The most impressive feature in our new SUV range can be found under the hood. I think we are having a resurgence of gasoline engines and today is the right time to take advantage of that opportunity,” Mr. Dasig said.

Meanwhile, the power plant choice for the upcoming 5008 has yet to be finalized pending Philippine government approval. Peugeot has a third engine option — the 2.0-liter HDi diesel.

Peugeot has set prices for the 3008 GT Line at P2.590, and for the 2008 at P1.490 million. No price for the 5008 has been announced. — Brian M. Afuang

Ocean tidal power JV flags need for state guarantees

H&WB ASIA PACIFIC (Pte Ltd) Corp., a Filipino-French joint venture (JV) building an ocean tidal power facility, has backed the creation of a single state-led guarantee agency.

“Ocean power needs strong government support. The kinetic energy of tidal currents produces stable electricity supply. This is real ‘grid smart’ technology because it can provide steady ancillary service supporting the transmission of electricity from generation to customers up to far-flung areas,” said Antonio A. Ver, president of H&WB Asia Pacific (Pte Ltd) Corp. in a statement.

H&WB and French marine energy technologies and engineering company Sabella SAS are jointly building a $25-million pilot phase of an ocean tidal power plant in San Bernardino Strait.

The project, under special purpose company San Bernardino Ocean Power Corp. (SBOPC), aims to boost the country’s renewable energy portfolio.

Mr. Ver said the government’s plan to put up a single government guarantee system, which was endorsed in October by the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations for President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s approval, will bolster the chances of SBOPC getting the international funding.

H&WB said the project was shortlisted in May 2017 for possible financing under the fifth funding cycle of the International Renewable Energy Agency/Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (IRENA/ADFD).

ADFD requires a government guarantee letter and a guarantee agreement for loan applicants that are private entities such as SBOPC.

“The ADFD loan facility is an effective financing strategy for the San Bernardino ocean power plant and securing the funding will certainly accelerate the construction and development phases of the project and jumpstart the development of ocean energy,” he said. — Victor V. Saulon

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