In response to the growing challenges posed by rapid technological advancements, the Supreme Court of the Philippines gathered the jurisdiction’s special commercial court judges for a landmark National Judicial Colloquium on Intellectual Property Adjudication. Hosted in partnership with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and the World Intellectual Property Organization, the two-day event aimed to future-proof the Philippines’ legal framework for innovators and creators.

Japar Dimaampao, Supreme Court associate justice and vice chairperson of the Supreme Court’s subcommittee on commercial courts, described the colloquium as a “beacon of cooperation and progress.” He said that “effective adjudication of intellectual property cases is a vital safeguard for innovators and creators for whom the Constitution stands guard,” reaffirming the court’s commitment to reinforcing the Philippines’ IP legal framework.

Justice Cameron Moore of the Federal Court of Australia and Justice Soumen Sen of India’s Calcutta High Court were among the international experts who shared their insights at the colloquium. Moore stressed the importance of exchanging cross-jurisdictional perspectives on patent law, while Sen underscored the need for IP law to evolve continuously to meet new challenges.

The colloquium went beyond theoretical discussions and included practical components, featuring hands-on workshops where judges solved complex case problems. Retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Rosmari Carandang, chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy, said that the programme was specifically designed to meet these evolving needs in a landscape of increasingly complex IP issues.

In her closing remarks, IPOPHL Director General Brigitte da Costa-Villaluz encouraged the judges to remain open to different perspectives and to learn from one another’s experiences, capping off an event focused on collaboration and forward-thinking jurisprudence.

- Excel V. Dyquiangco