Local applications for intellectual property saw a 14% annual increase during the first quarter of the year amid expanding awareness over the importance of protecting trademark for business.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said applications for patents — which cover inventions, utility models, and industrial designs — and trademarks totaled 10,024 in the January to March period this year, above the 8,761 logged in the comparable period last year.
Of this, trademarks represented 84% at 8,400 applications, increasing 12.56% from last year’s 7,463.
Resident filings took up the bulk at 60% and the remaining 40% were from non-residents.
Trademarks serve as ‘source-identifiers’, meant to distinguish one business’ goods or
services from that of another, and can be a significant marketing tool for enterprises to
establish brand recognition.
Meanwhile, the application for a patent for inventions grew 38% to 986 from 717 a year ago; the patent for utility models surged 59% to 331 from 208; but the patent for industrial design decline the 18% to 3017 from 373.
A patent is a bundle of exclusive rights granted for an invention which consists of product, a process or improvement of either that meets the requirements of industrial applicability, inventiveness, and novelty.
As a bundle of exclusive rights, a patent allows the inventor to allow or prohibit others from making, using, selling, or importing the product of his invention during the life of the patent. — Janina C. Lim

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