The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to promote the use of the intellectual property (IP) system in supporting business and innovative activities within special economic zones (SEZ).
POPHL director-general Rowel Barba and PEZA director-general Tereso Panga signed the MOU in in December 2023 to establish a biennial work plan to promote IP protection to current and potential investors in the SEZ.
“By underlining the importance of protecting and enforcing IP rights in these areas, current and potential companies and investors can do business in the Philippines knowing their IP assets are in safe hands,” Barba said.
The two agencies aim to mainstream IP into PEZA’s developmental goals by conducting knowledge orientation and skills training to its officials and staff along with the work plan.
Panga expressed PEZA’s enthusiasm to form the work plan with the help of existing investors and locators in SEZs.
“[This MOU] can simplify our procedures to make it easy for our locators — those particularly applying for patents and trademarks. From our end, we would also look into inputs from our investors,” said Panga, stressing the exigency to promote IP among PEZA stakeholders.
PEZA reported P25.9 billion in exports in the first half of 2023, 1.8 million direct jobs and 102 new or expansion projects.
PEZA was overseeing 422 ecozones across the country as of September 2023, which are home to 4,372 locator companies.
Meanwhile, the Philippines remains an attractive investment destination to neighboring countries since its exclusion from the European Commission’s IP watchlist in 2020 and the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) Special 301 Report in 2013.
“We want to boost the confidence of foreign direct investors where PEZA is a key player. As such, our goal here is to assure investors that the Philippines is a suitable and secure destination with a strong IP system where investments are protected,” Barba said.