Business Leaders Push for Madrid Protocol
09 November 2012
Business leaders in the Philippines are urging the country to join the Madrid Protocol, according to a report in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Edgardo Lacson said joining the Madrid Protocol would make it easier for chamber members to protect their businesses through the system’s streamlined trademark registration process.
Ferdinand Negre, a partner at Bengzon Negre Untalan, told the newspaper that joining the Madrid Protocol would lead to new business for law firms. “The [registration] business the IP lawyers will lose as a result of becoming part of the Madrid Protocol can be replaced by other business, such as licensing and enforcement,” he said. “The forgone revenues would be a small price to pay for the positive effects (the Madrid Protocol) will have on the economy.”
PCCI IP committee chair Jesus Varela told the Inquirer that the group is in talks with members of the Senate to push for the country’s inclusion in the Madrid Protocol.
