INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Brief Background
The Philippine government has made it a State policy to protect and promote
intellectual property rights. This policy was enshrined both in the 1973
Constitution which provides that the exclusive right to inventions, writings and
artistic creations shall be secured to inventors, authors, and artists for a limited
period and in the 1987 Constitution which explicitly mandates that the State
shall protect intellectual property.
The Philippines became a member of the World Intellectual Property Organization
[WIPO] in 1980. It was a signatory to a number of significant
multilateral international agreements and treaties for the protection and
promotion of intellectual property rights.
The first laws protecting intellectual property rights were enacted in the
Philippines in 1947, to wit:
Republic Act No. 165 otherwise known as An Act Creating a Patent Office,
Prescribing its Powers and Duties, Regulating the Issuance of Patents and
Appropriating Funds Therefor.
Republic Act No. 166 otherwise known as An Act to Provide for the
Registration and Protection of Trade Marks, Trade Names and Service Marks,
Defining Unfair Competition and False Marking and Providing Remedies Against
the Same, and for other Purposes.
Subsequent to the foregoing, additional laws were enacted and issuances
promulgated to further promote and protect intellectual property rights, to wit:
Republic Act No. 422 transferring the examination of copyright applications to
the Bureau of Public Libraries.
Republic Act No. 623 regulating the use of duly stamped or marked bottles,
boxes, casks, kegs, barrels, and other similar containers; providing, in the case
of foreign applicants, for reciprocity and recognition of their priority rights;
establishing, in the case of trademarks, principal and supplemental as well as
interference proceedings; extending protection of utility models and industrial
designs under the patent system; and providing, in the case of trademark
registration, for reciprocity arrangement with other countries.
Republic Act No. 5434 providing for a uniform procedure for appeals from the
decision of quasi-judicial officers including the Director of Patents.
Administrative Order No. 94 [November 20, 1967] creating a committee to
review the Philippine patent system and recommend amendatory laws to further
upgrade it.
Presidential Decree No. 721 creating the Legal Services Division and the
Research and Information Division in the Philippine Patent Office. Subsequently,
major reorganization of the various Divisions was made in the 1980's. The
General Organic Chemistry Division and the ChemicalTechnology Division were
merged to form the Chemical Division. The Mechanical-Electrical Divisionwas
merged with the Mechanical, Design, Utility Model Division and Electrical Division
to form the Mechanical and Electrical Examining Division.
Presidential Decree No. 1263 amending Republic Acts Nos. 165 and 166,
granting authority to the Philippine Patent Office to increase its fees and to spend
a portion of its income for priority projects; exempting indigent inventors who
filed their application for patent through the Philippine Inventor's Commission
from all fees charged by the Philippine Patent Office; and shortening the period
for thegrant of a compulsory license from one hundred eighty [180] days to one
hundred twenty [120] daysfrom the date the petition is filed in cases where the
compulsory license applied for is on a patented product or process involving any
project approved by the Board of Investments [BOI].
Executive Order No. 133 [February 27, 1987] merging the Philippine Patent
Office with the then Technology Transfer Board thereby creating the Bureau of
Patents, Trademarks and Technology Transfer [BPTTT].
Executive Order No. 60 was issued in 1993 creating the Inter-Agency
Committee on Intellectual Property Rights [IAC-IPR] under the Office of the
President of the Philippines.
Department Administrative Orders Nos. 5 and 6 introduced amendments to
the Rules of Practice in Patent and Trademark Cases and the Rules of Procedures
of the Technology Transfer Registry effective on March 15, 1993. cralaw

Republic Act No. 8293 otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of
the Philippines was enacted and signed into law in 1997. It took effect on
January 1, 1998.

OTHER SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENTS

On March 8, 1988, the first issue of the BPTTT Official Gazette was launched.
In 1992, the Philippine Association of Certified Patent Agents [PACPA] was
incorporated thereby recognizing and promoting the patent agent profession in
the Philippines.
In the same year, the CD-ROM Version of the bibliographic data of registered
Philippine patents was introduced.
In 1993, the Kantor-Navarro Agreement was signed as a result of the
negotiations between the Philippines and the United States for the purpose of
delisting the Philippines from the Priority Watch List of Countries covered by the
Super 301 List under the United States Trade Act.
In October of the same year, the Philippine component of the EC-ASEAN
Programme on Patents and Trademarks was officially launched thereby
strengthening the capability of Industrial Property Offices in ASEAN to administer
their respective patents and trademarks systems and to further facilitate the
exchange of patent information among ASEAN members. Under this program, a
Patent Documentation Center was established in Cebu in 1994.
In 1994, the patent and trademark search and examination procedures were
modernized through the assistance of the European Commission. Made available
were 2 CD-ROM work stations and a complete set of ESPACE CD-ROM containing
the abstracts, first page and full text of the applications filed from 1988 to 1994
with the European Patent Office. cra law

In 1995, special courts were designated by the Philippine Supreme Court to hear
cases involving intellectual property rights.

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Since 19.07.98