Intellectual property filings rise 15% in 2018

MANILA, Philippines — Intellectual property (IP) filings rose 15 percent in 2018 from a year ago on the back of the country’s growing creative and scientific economy, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said.

In a statement, IPOPHL said filings for patents, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks and copyright deposits reached 44,461 last year, higher than the 38,801 applications in 2017.

The latest result brought the five-year average growth rate of IP filings to seven percent.

“We are now seeing the results of our deliberate move for closer engagement with the academe, businesses and industry in regions outside of Metro Manila. In 2018 alone, we opened three IP satellite offices in Dumaguete, Naga and Zamboanga to reach out to IP creators there,” IPOPHL director general Josephine Santiago said.

Apart from increased productivity of the country’s scientific and creative communities, the higher IP filings also show increasing awareness of the economic benefit of IP in commercial activity and in research and development.

“This signifies that more and more people are utilizing IP to enhance competitiveness in business, and as an incentive to make commercially-viable technology,” Santiago said.

In addition, IPOPHL’s move to deploy online filing systems contributed to the increase in number of filings.

IP filings made online went up 35 percent to 10,346 last year from 7,645 applications in 2017.

By type of IP, applications for trademarks accounted for the bulk of filings which grew 11 percent year-on-year to reach 35,602 applications last year.

Applications for patents increased 28 percent year-on-year to 3,946 last year, while applications for utility models went up 54 percent to 2,124 last year from 1,380 in 2017.

Applications for industrial designs and copyright deposits went up nine percent and 29 percent year-on-year, respectively, last year.