Start-up entrepreneurs told to get IP protection

CEBU, Philippines - Start-up companies, and budding Filipino entrepreneurs are urged to embrace the Intellectual Property (IP) to their respective businesses, in order to protect their potential business concepts, and thrive.

Intellectual Property Office-Philippines (IPO-Phil) director Carment Peralta said that a strong IP portfolio could boost the value of a start-up company.

Peralta cited “The Economist” claims in 2005 that 75 percent of the value of publicly-traded companies in the US was based on IP.

IP refers to any creation or product of the human mind including inventions, original designs, practical applications of a good idea, mark of ownership, literary and artistic works.

She said protecting IP rights through patents, utility models, industrial design, and copyrights will ensure that any commercial gain from the use, production and sale of a product or creation will go to the inventor, or creator and not to someone else.

Peralta emphasized that the IPO-Phil employs that “first to file” rules, so it is important for start-up companies, especially when technology is at the second core of their business, to study their IP protection strategy as early as possible and get advice from professionals.

A person of a company with a novel, inventive and useful product, process or improvement of a product is advised to file a patent to obtain a 20-year exclusive right over the product.

This means that no one else is authorized to develop and sell his or her product other than those formally authorized. The person or company that owns the patent receives royalty whenever other people or entities use the product for commercial purpose.

IPO  Phil has waived its fees for the first 1,000 patent applications under the Patent Protection Incentive Package.  However, Peralta clarified that this applies only to those inventors and researchers who are collaborating with institutions which are Innovation and Technology Support Office (ITSO) franchisees.

A utility model, or an innovation that is not sufficiently inventive, is given seven years patent protection.

Meanwhile, an industrial design, referring to the aesthetic aspect of a product, can have a five-year patent protection that can be renewed twice.

While patents, utility models, and industrial designs require registration, a copyright is automatic from the time of publication or recording and other such moments of expression. Copyrights last 50 years after the death of the owner.

In Cebu, the presence of ITSOs, and the regional office of the IPO-Phl have paved the way for surging number of Cebuano companies applied for trademark, patent, as well as copyright, said Department of Trade and Industry-Cebu Provincial Office (DTI-CPO) director Nelia F. Navarro.

The awareness to protect brands, creations, and inventions have raised among Cebuanos, said Navarro in an interview.

Earlier,  the IPO-PHL in partnership with DTI-Cebu opened  the ITSO offices in Cebu with host institutions, such as Cebu Institute of Technology University (CIT-U), Unviersity of Cebu (UC), University of San Carlos (USC), University of San Jose Recoletos (USJ-R), University of the Philippines in the Visayas-Cebu College (UPVCC), and the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI).

The ITSOs or Patent Libraries, which offer access to 70 million patented technologies in the world, are now ready to assist entrepreneurs, investors, research and development (R&D) practitioners, researches, students and the general public to access patent information and use of the patent system.

The ITSO concept, which has long been utlilized by companies in more developed countries as part of their business strategy, the IPO-PHL has established a franchise of ITSOs within top universities of the country, including CCCI. (FREEMAN)