The Philippines continues to meet the stringent standards of the United States on intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement and protection, clearing itself from being flagged as an economy of significant concern under the recently released 2020 Special 301 Report.

“We welcome the country’s continued exclusion from the Special 301 priority lists,” Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua said.

He said the development manifests government’s augmented efforts, through the 12-member National Committee on IP Rights (NCIPR), in strengthening the legal and policy infrastructure of the IP system; streamlining litigation procedures while enhancing alternative tracks for dispute resolution; engaging with critical players in various sectors; leading the Association of Southeast Asian Nations toward a shared vision of having effective and efficient IP systems across member-states; and building the capacities of enforcement actors while putting on board more government authorities pertinent to the cause.

“As NCIPR vice-chair, IPOPHL lauds the efforts of our chair, the Department of Trade and Industry, and each of our members namely the Department of Justice; Bureau of Customs (BOC); Food and Drug Administration (FDA); National Bureau of Investigation; Philippine National Police; Optical Media Board; National Book Development Board; Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime; Department of the Interior and Local Government; and National Telecommunications Commission for another job well done,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.

“We will continue working with each other to further entrench on a national scale a deep sense of respect for intellectual property rights, important in driving innovation and creativity for national progress,” Barba added.

The Special 301 is annually released by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) as an assessment of the IP rights enforcement environments of US' trade partners. The report draws up lists which identify those who do not adequately or effectively protect IP rights or otherwise deny market access to US innovators and creators that rely on protection of their IP rights. The Philippines has kept itself out of this list since 2014.

However, the report raised alleged IP rights enforcement gaps in the local scene with most having been raised in the past editions of the Special 301 such as the reported slow opposition proceedings and government's use of unlicensed software.

It must be noted that IPOPHL's Bureau of Legal Affairs drastically improved the turnaround time of disposals of inter partes or opposition cases in recent years that in 2019, it was recorded that a complete disposal would take 1.27 years, a 71% drop from the 4.31 years in 2018.

On unlicensed software, Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act of 2002 mainly addresses this issue and had been cited in IPOPHL’s previous annual reports to the USTR. Said law requires that prospective bidders for the procurement of goods submit, under oath, eligibility requirements as they go through a stringent screening that ensures winning bidders are legitimate and deal only with genuine, authorized, and good quality products. This helps the government avoid any risks stemming from the use of unauthorized or substandard products.

Likewise, there are other earlier issued policies on the matter: Executive Order No. 262, series of 2000 entitled “Providing Policies, Guidelines, Rules and Regulations for the Procurement of Goods/Supplies by the National Government” and Memorandum Circular No. 115 issued on April 5, 1995 which directs all government offices to acquire only licensed software.

Intensifying vigilance amid allegation of PH as fake pharma source

A new issue raised by the Special 301 report is the identification of the Philippines in a recent study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as one of the leading sources of counterfeit medicines distributed globally.

Pascua said the NCIPR, which IPOPHL steers as vice-chair, has always dealt with the issue of counterfeit medicines as a life- and-death matter.

"Any issue on public health is a major concern. Hence, heightened vigilance will be taken as the Philippines does not and cannot tolerate activities that put human lives at risk. In fact, IPOPHL in its legislative agenda proposed much steeper penalties on counterfeiting of medicines and other products which pose danger to life and health," Pascua said.

NCIPR member FDA, which has jurisdiction over pharmaceuticals, is taking the lead in programs to seize counterfeit pharmaceuticals and prevent their entry into Philippine borders by working closely with the BOC, also an NCIPR member.

All other pertinent agencies within the NCIPR are working towards developing a protocol for reporting and investigating possible counterfeit pharmaceutical products sold online amid the shift of several business to online marketplaces.

To recall, the 12-member NCIPR hauled in January to July 2019 P13.73 billion worth of counterfeit and pirated goods. Of this, pharmaceutical and personal care products accounted for 2%.

Excel V. Dyquiangco