IP Philippines Signs Two Agreements with WIPO
19 December 2012
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) Director General Ricardo R. Blancaflor and Director General Francis Gurry of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) have signed a cooperation agreement aimed at modernizing IP Philippines’ IT system. The office would receive technical assistance in the implementation of WIPO’s Industrial Property Automation System (IPAS).
The IPAS system for utility models and industrial designs is expected to be deployed in September 2011. The system for inventions will be completed in January 2012 while the trademarks system will be operational by September 2012. Once IPAS has been implemented, the Philippines will be the most advanced ASEAN country in patent automation except for Singapore.
A second agreement signed by IP Philippines will develop and establish its Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSOs). Instead of training individuals in patent skills and technology transfer know-how, which has been done for the past 10 years, IP Philippines will now focus on building institutions that have high potential for using the IP system and promoting it to its constituents, according to a statement. The ITSOs will provide assistance in searching technical information using free and/or commercial patent databases, as well as scientific and technical journal (non-patent) databases.
