IN commemoration of the National Intellectual Property Month in the Philippines and World Intellectual Property Day, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde recently held a forum discussing the value of IP in relation to sports.
Organized by the Intellectual Property Management Center (IPMC) of CSB and held at the School of Design and Arts Campus in April, the forum, entitled “The Role of Intellectual Property and Sports,” gathered experts in the field of legal practice, technology, graphic design and sports to discuss the value of Intellectual Property (IP) before a crowd of students, athletes and associates.
Panelists were CSB Center for Sports and Development and taekwondo Olympian Stephen Fernandez, IP Law practitioner and book author Ernesto Salao, and sports photographer and graphic designer Tristan Tamayo. Forum moderator was Atty. Janice Tejano, Director of the IPMC.
During the forum, the panellists discussed how IP comes into play in various levels in sports.
Mr. Fernandez touched on the role in economic development of IP in global sports.
“IP helps in generating income from the sale of sports-related goods and services. It has become increasingly important to athletes who want to create, protect, and commercially leverage their rights by staking their own intellectual property claim or by licensing or transferring their rights,” said Mr. Fernandez.
Mr. Salao, for his part, reiterated the need for inventors to be assured that they are properly compensated for their ideas and work, which is one the facets that the forum wanted to bring forth.
“All things covered by intellectual property are supposed to help us, help an athlete, a corporation, a marketer, and a photographer do their jobs better,” the IP Law practitioner.
Mr. Tamayo, meanwhile, took time to enjoin fellow photographers and artists to learn the copyright and related rights to safeguard their works.
“For all creators, know the value of your art and learn to protect your work, whatever it would be, what form it may be to avoid others stealing your personal pieces,” said Mr. Tamayo.
The Role of Intellectual Property and Sports forum was set up on April 3 by the IPMC of CSB which is under the Office of the Chancellor and administers the IP Rights Policy and its implementing rules and regulations, and manages the college’s development, registration, protection and licensing. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo
