Five years have passed since the Philippines was last mentioned on the European Commission’s monitoring list for violations of intellectual property rights. In its May 17 list, the study said that “legal uncertainties and diverging applications of the law, low level of trade secrets protection and enforcements, and overall weak IPR enforcement” are the determining criteria of the priority nations.

“Our omission from the list shows that trade partners still see us as a desirable investment location,” said the director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), Rowel S. Barba. “We have come a long way in maintaining a safe IP climate in line with worldwide economic norms.”

The report is a biannual publication that lists the priority nations that the European Union’s IP-heavy businesses find to be of the utmost importance. China is the only nation listed as “priority one,” owing to the ongoing infringement of IP rights through piracy and counterfeiting, including the patchy implementation and enforcement of IPR laws. On the other hand, India is under “priority two” due to its numerous restrictions on patent protection, while Turkey is warned due to its weaknesses in national IP enforcement.

Barba stressed the need to “go beyond” the Philippines’ removal from the report’s watchlist despite the country being delisted from the EU’s IP watchlist.

“However, we recognize that much more effort has to be done to guarantee a safe and dependable market for the owners of IP rights across all nations,” he said. “As a proactive national IP office, we have increased our efforts to protect our investment attractiveness since our previous mention as a priority three in 2019. This is a testimonial to our dedication.”

Barba added that efforts to combat piracy and counterfeiting will continue.

- Excel Dyquiangco