IPOPHL and INTA Sign MOU To Fight Counterfeiting

02 July 2021

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and the International Trademark Association (INTA) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to combat counterfeiting through enhancing the skills and knowledge of youth, companies, online platforms, and national authorities.

IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba and INTA President Tiki Dare signed the MOU in a virtuous signing ceremony.

“We appreciate INTA's continued support of IPOPHL over the years. But now, we are elevating our collaborative relationships to a more solid collaboration, in which we will pursue a multi-pronged approach of capacity building, awareness, and global dialogue,” Barba said.

INTA will assist IPOPHL examiners in analyzing developing goods in design, trademarks, certification marks, non-traditional marks, renowned and well-known marks to avoid misleading resemblance among marks within the terms of the MOU.

Both will enable Customs to improve cross-border cooperation, seizures, and destruction procedures; online platforms to adopt voluntary best practices in preventing and addressing online counterfeit trade; national enforcement authorities and brand owners to streamline coordination and quickly intercept counterfeits; and court judges to broaden their knowledge of IP and stay up to date with new developments.

IPOPHL and INTA will focus on promoting awareness among adolescents, particularly those who are not in school.

“Our youth are a critical audience in the development of a national culture of intellectual property respect” (IP). “We aim to engage with the kids in a way that captures their enthusiasm in creativity, innovation, and all things intellectual property,” Barba added.

Local business organizations, particularly MSMEs, will benefit from POPHL and INTA's awareness campaign, which will equip them with cost-effective brand management techniques and worldwide protection measures.

INTA pledged to strengthen IPOPHL's interaction with its worldwide members through a variety of activities, including INTA's Annual Meeting, where IPOPHL may share its best practices and learn from others.

The group also pledges to assist IPOPHL in its leadership role at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' (ASEAN) Working Group on IP Cooperation (AWGIPC) and the ASEAN Network of IP Enforcement Experts (ANIEE) in trademark protection initiatives.

IPOPHL is "a prominent IP authority and real frontliner in Southeast Asia," according to INTA's Dare, noting IPOPHL's key role in executing 13 regional IP treaties.

Dare also praised the Philippines as a whole for its "creative and out-of-the-box thinking" in dealing with problems, as seen by the Supreme Court's decision to simplify IP prosecution procedures in 2020 and continuing legislative attempts to modify the country's 1997 IP Code.

The MOU work plan will be executed through the end of 2022, after which it will be evaluated to identify areas that require more attention and potential new problems that both sides must address.