The intellectual property community in the Philippines was cheered by good news from the United States Trade Representative in April 2025: For the 12th consecutive year, the Philippines is not part of the USTR’s Special 301 Report, its list of jurisdictions with IP rights enforcement concerns. 

There was one bit of bad news from the report, which called out the availability of counterfeit medicines in the Philippines – and for the global distribution of those drugs. The USTR cited the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union Intellectual Property Office, and also noted the prevalence of fake drugs from China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam.  

Earlier this year, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) reaffirmed the Philippines’ commitment to safeguarding IP rights. The Manila Bulletin reported that IPOPHL, in a February 10, 2025, letter addressed to Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Innovation and Intellectual Property Daniel Lee, said the country recognizes the importance of a strong and effective enforcement system to protect the IP rights of all stakeholders. 

“The Philippines remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguard IP rights and continuously strive to enhance our enforcement capacity to combat counterfeiting and piracy, both in the physical and digital markets through a holistic and whole-of-nation approach,” said IPOPHL Director General Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz in the letter, which was seen by the newspaper.  

“We have made significant strides in this IP rights protection, have implemented and will continue to implement reforms aimed at improving the effectiveness of our intellectual property rights enforcement,” she added. 

Meanwhile, special commercial court judges have gathered to discuss emerging IP challenges, Philstar has reported. 

According to Philstar, the Supreme Court hosted the National Judicial Colloquium on Intellectual Property Adjudication, a two-day event which brought together judges who had completed a specialized course on IP. The event was hosted in partnership with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and the World Intellectual Property Organization and aimed to “strengthen judicial capacity, promote consistency in rulings and address emerging challenges in IP law,” according to a statement released by the Supreme Court. 

“Effective adjudication of intellectual property cases is a vital safeguard for innovators and creators for whom the Constitution stands guard,” Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao, vice chairperson of the Supreme Court’s subcommittee on commercial courts, said. 

He said the event is a “beacon of cooperation and progress” and reaffirmed the court’s commitment to reinforcing the country’s IP legal framework, the newspaper said.  

“A judiciary that functions like a well-oiled machine serves as a bulwark for the rights of innovators, creators, and inventors, which is essential for maintaining public trust in our institutions for intellectual property,” he said. 

It is with this ongoing improvement in IP protection in the Philippines that we turned to IP professionals in the region in order to understand better what clients need today. Asia IP asked a large number of professionals – mostly in-house counsel and corporate legal managers – what they were looking for from their legal service providers. From their answers, we have compiled our list of the Philippines’ IP Experts, those lawyers who understand what their clients need and are able to provide them with the best practical advice. 

The Philippines’ largest IP firms and practices are well-represented on our list, with Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices (Victor N. De Leon, Alex Ferdinand Fider, John Paul M. Gaba, Jose Eduardo T. Genilo and Richmond Lee) and Villaraza & Angangco (Sophia Editha Cruz-Abrenica, Katrina Doble, Antonio Miguel C. Lu, Danielle Francesca T. San Pedro and Bienvenido I. Somera, Jr.) each placing five lawyers on the list. Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia placed four (Patricia A.O. Bunye, Rowanie A. Nakan, Divina Gracia E. Pedron and Susan D. Villanueva); and Quisumbing Torres placed three (Divina Pastora V. Ilas-Panganiban, Bienvenido A. Marquez III and Reena C. Mitra-Ventanilla). A total of 34 different firms placed at least one lawyer on the list, showcasing the breadth of the intellectual property practice in Manila and elsewhere in the Philippines. 

Our survey includes only those lawyers working at law firms in the Philippines. 

Most of the lawyers named to our list have multiple practice specialties. Many of them are litigators, while others concentrate on prosecution work or provide strategic advice.  

All of them have something in common: they are experts in their fields and, in one way or another, they provide extra value for their clients. They are Asia IP’s IP Experts for the Philippines.

– GREGORY GLASS 

The Philippines’ IP Experts is based solely on independent editorial research conducted by Asia IP. As part of this project, we turned to thousands of in-house counsel in the Philippines, Asia and around the world, as well as Philippines-focused partners at international law firms, and asked them to nominate private-practice lawyers, including foreign legal consultants, advisers and counsel.  

The final list reflects the nominations received combined with the input of the editorial team at Asia IP, which has more than 50 years of collective experience in researching and understanding the legal market in the Philippines. 

All private practice intellectual property lawyers working at law firms in the Philippines were eligible for inclusion in the nominations process; there were no fees or any other requirements for inclusion in the process. 

The names of our 60 IP Experts are published here. Each IP Expert was given the opportunity to include their biography and contact details in print and on our website, for which a fee was charged.