This article entitled “How the Philippines compare with its neighbors in terms of protecting intellectual property” was published in BusinessWorld on April 5, 2018.

In the latest report on International Intellectual Property Index, the Philippines ranked 38th out of 50 economies on the IP Index covering eight (8) categories: a) patents related rights; b) copyrights and related rights; c) trademarks related rights; d) trade secrets and related rights; e) commercialization of IP assets; f) enforcement; g) systemic efficiency; and h) membership in and ratification of international treaties. Compared to other select Asian economies, the Philippines is ahead of Vietnam (40th), Thailand (41st); and Indonesia (43rd) but below Japan (8th), Singapore (9th), South Korea (11th), Taiwan (20th); Malaysia (23rd) and China (25th).

The report cited the Philippines’ key strengths as: the streamlining of its IP registration system, growing specialization and capacity building (such as administrative IP courts), as well as ongoing focus on improving IP protection and enforcement, among others. At the same time, the report cited red tape in IP legislation, rampant online piracy, and significant gaps in life sciences-and content-related IP rights as among its key weaknesses.

It is worthy to note that the IP Index rates a country’s IP policy and services as a guide for policymakers who wish to bolster economic growth, job creation innovation and creativity through a strong IP framework.