Friday, April 18, 2008 WB aid relies on IP laws, enforcement
AN expert on intellectual property laws emphasized the need for a functioning legal system and strong intellectual property laws to attract bilateral aid in the country.
Dr. Ralph Oman, professor of intellectual property law at the George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C., said the World Bank underscores the importance of a legal system that works and the enforcement of intellectual property laws before it grants loans to an applicant country.
Oman was the guest speaker of the Intellectual Property Forum organized by the Ong, Bagay-Villamor, Fabiosa Law Firm and Patent Consultants (OVF) yesterday at the Cebu City Sports Club.
Being one of the three founding members of the United States World Intellectual Property Organization, Oman said the enforcement of IP rights in the country will help build the nation into an industrial leader.
“(The country) should plan for a bright industrial future, not just (depend) on tourism,” he said, adding that the lack of resources in government agencies to fully enforce the law has to be addressed, too.
Get makers
Oman also told the participants of the forum to encourage the enforcement of the law against high profile manufacturers and counterfeit operators, instead of catching the street peddlers of fake items.
Upon his review of the Philippine Intellectual Property Code, he considered it as one of the best in the world. If the law can be effectively enforced, the country would have an edge over Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand and Taiwan in the fight against intellectual property rights infringements.
But, although the country has a “world class” intellectual property code, as described by Oman, software piracy in the country was already at 71 percent for the year 2005, accounting for $76 million of industry loss.
During the forum, OVF also launched its website to make its services accessible by clients.
Lawyer Clint Fabiosa, head of the OVF litigation group, said OVF is the only intellectual property service firm catering to clients in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Fabiosa also said the firm holds IP forums to increase the people’s awareness on intellectual property rights and the violations under the law.
He added, however, that the most effective way to fight counterfeits is for the consumers not to patronize imitation products.
The lawyer also clarified that the business name registration under the Department of Trade and Industry is “not a sufficient protection” when one claims as a first user of a business name under the intellectual property law.
Counting the possibility of a business name developing into a brand name, he suggested for businessmen to register their business name as a trademark as well.
“The rule under the intellectual property law is always who is first to file,” he said. (DME)
