NEARLY two decades after their launch, Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs) have helped millions of researchers and inventors optimize global databases on patent and scientific information. While many TISCs have evolved to help protect technologies, a few like the Philippines have pushed the frontiers even further by translating innovations to impact.
Alex Riechel, Head of the TISC Development Section, IP for Innovators Department, IP and Innovation Ecosystems Sector of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), said the Philippines is “among the longest established and most advanced TISC networks in the world.” This maturity, he noted, has allowed the country to move beyond activity counts and toward outcome-based measures that show real market impact.
“The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has recognized not only the number of intellectual property (IP) filings, but also the number of IP assets commercialized and the number of IP commercialization transactions, such as licenses, as success indicators,” Riechel said.
At WIPO’s regional meeting in February, ASEAN member states shared best practices to strengthen the regional TISC Network. IPOPHL’s approach drew particular interest, especially its effort to track revenues generated from TISC-supported IP assets, which rose 19.1% year-on-year in 2025 to P24.3 million.
This focus on commercialization was cited in WIPO’s TISC Report 2024, which surveyed 1,667 centers across 93 countries and highlighted select TISCs, including those in the Philippines, for actively incentivizing market uptake.
Another highlight is IPOPHL’s “Palladium” cluster, the highest distinction awarded to TISCs based on both the volume and type of services delivered, particularly in patent filing, IP commercialization and international applications. Beyond performance, the Philippine model adopts inclusion. Six ITSO staff members are now registered as pro bono agents under the Inventor Assistance Program, expanding access for underserved innovators.
Riechel underscored the importance of these efforts in ensuring “lost innovators” can fully participate in the global IP system and the growing knowledge economy.
Acting Director General Nathaniel S. Arevalo said this shift reflects a deliberate strategy to ensure innovation delivers measurable value.
“Our goal has always been impact,” Arevalo said. “It is not enough to increase filings. We must ensure that protected technologies reach the market, generate income, create jobs and address real needs. Through our TISC network, we are building a culture where innovation is actively translated into economic and social gains.”
From awareness to markets
But commercialization can only happen where awareness begins. “Some of our researchers didn’t even realize that what they were doing was patentable,” said Dr. Lourdes Marie S. Tejero, Director of UPM’s Technology Transfer and Business Development Office. “When we do these IP awareness campaigns, they get that eureka moment.”
UPM bridges its array of cutting-edge research output with potential market applications through regular networking events and investor galas to accelerate partnerships and technology transfer.
Engagement with an ITSO reshaped how research translates into enterprise. “It enabled our shift from research that works to research that survives outside the laboratory,” said. Dr. Joel P. Ilao, CEO of VISION Technologies Corporation. With continued support from the DLSU’s ITSO, through licensing discussions, innovation grants and compliance guidance, the startup has since reached maturity.
DLSU’s engagement efforts are not limited to faculty researchers—the IP journey can begin with students, with the university’s IP Advocates (IPA). Members of the IPA hold university-wide IP awareness campaigns and gain experience as interns for the university’s ITSO.
The Adamson University (AdU), meanwhile, runs a four-phase incubation program that supports startups from ideation to market through IP assistance, industry linkages, and workspace—positioning it as a leader in innovation management among universities.
“We have been working with IPOPHL and WIPO, and because of that, we are one of the trusted ITSOs in the network,” said AdU’s ITSO Director Anna May A. Ramos.
Leading the ASEAN TISC Network
With 103 ITSOs nationwide, accounting for over 40% of the nearly 250 TISCs across ASEAN, the Philippines is leading the region by demonstrating how TISCs can deliver real-world impact.
“We have to make sure that new technologies don’t end up in the graveyard of innovations,” IPOPHL Deputy Director General Ann Claire C. Cabochan said as Chair of the 2nd ASEAN TISC Network Task Force held earlier in February in Manila. “Leadership in innovation means building systems that move ideas from research to protection and into the market. Our role is to ensure promising technologies are supported and brought to market to solve real-world problems.”
The meeting was followed by a tour organized by IPOPHL, where ASEAN delegates visited the ITSOs of Adamson University, DLSU and UPM, institutions at the forefront of IP commercialization and technology transfer in the country.
Dr. Merlinda A. Palencia, professor at AdU and CEO of Envigor Natural Products Manufacturing Inc., shared how the university’s ITSO turned her research into a viable business, emphasizing the need for active support from IP offices.
“We researchers are already in our comfort zone, but entering technopreneurship is stepping into a new jungle. Without your support, we may not have the courage to do so—you are the prime movers of technopreneurship,” Dr. Palencia said. PR