Wednesday, October 22, 2008 Intellectual Property satellite office to open
LOCAL intellectual property concerns and issues can now be raised at the regional level as the Intellectual Property Satellite Office (Ipso) in Davao City will be operational next month.
This move is aimed at establishing IP Philippines' presence in the countryside and making its services accessible for stakeholders in the provinces.
The IP Philippines said the setting up of Ipsos has three major importance, to wit: essential in the effective and efficient use of IP as a strategic tool for countryside development and competitiveness; capitalizes on the opportunity to collaborate with government offices such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and local government units (LGUs) in strengthening the protection of intellectual property rights in the countryside; and key factor in providing a platform for regional policy makers (DTI, LGUs, and business associations and intermediaries) to integrate IP in empowering the capabilities of various stakeholders.
DTI-Southern Mindanao assistant regional director Marizon S. Loreto said the move is a welcome development especially that a number of inventors reside in the region.
"The Ipso can be a vehicle towards the entrepreneurial growth of our local inventors. The Ipso can help them right away in the processing of their trademark or copyright so as to protect their rights being the owner of the said product or invention," she said.
Meanwhile, the IP Philippines said DTI and the LGU can benefit a lot from an IP-driven vibrant culture of innovation and creativity.
Among these benefits are: commercial exploitation of IP assets produces more small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and big enterprises; IP protection and utilization for products/services strengthen the enterprise's local and global competitiveness; high impact on the community's economic productivity; boost industrial investments from local and foreign investors; and increase in business name registrations (BNRs) and business permits.
