PHILIPPINES Trends and Developments Contributed by: Katrina Doble, Danielle Francesca San Pedro, Edward King Chua and Kyle Gino Salazar, Villaraza & Angangco
Villaraza & Angangco V&A Law Center 11th Avenue corner 39th Street Bonifacio Triangle Bonifacio Global City 1634 Metro Manila Philippines Tel: +632 8988 6088 Fax: +632 8988 6000 Email: ip.department@thefirmva.com Web: www.thefirmva.com
Geographical Indications in the Philippines: New Rules, New Recognition and Rising Global Relevance Geographical Indications (GIs) have long been rec - ognised internationally as powerful tools for protect - ing cultural heritage, preserving product quality and enhancing the economic value of origin-linked goods. From wines and spirits to textiles, coffee, chocolates and artisanal crafts, GIs enable communities to assert collective rights over products that embody the cul - ture, climate, natural resources and traditional know- how of a particular locality. These protections are especially relevant in the Phil - ippines – a country marked by rich cultural diversity, distinct regional identities and a wide array of unique agricultural and artisanal products that can compete with their regional and global counterparts, yet have historically received far less recognition and legal protection. As global consumer demand increasingly shifts toward authenticity, traceability and origin-linked quality, GIs present a critical mechanism for elevat - ing Philippine local products, safeguarding traditional knowledge, and positioning them more competitively in both domestic and international markets. For years, GI protection in the Philippines existed only as a conceptual category of intellectual property rights under the Intellectual Property Code (“IP Code”). Fol - lowing the IP Code coming into effect in 1998, there were no actual rules or regulations regarding GI reg - istration and protection until the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) issued Memoran - dum Circular No 2022-022 (“2022 GI Rules”) on 20
November 2022. The 2022 GI Rules introduced a sui generis registration framework dedicated to GIs and established a Register of Protected Geographical Indi - cations, helmed by the Director of Trademarks as the GI Registrar. Under the 2022 GI Rules, “Geographical Indications” are defined as “any indication which identifies a good as originating in a territory, region or locality, where a given quality, reputation, or other characteristic of the good is essentially attributable to its geographical origin and/or human factors”. Expanded protections afforded to GIs under the 2022 GI Rules are acquired through valid registration and certification in the Phil - ippines. The holder of a duly registered GI has the right to prevent third parties from the following actions: • use of any means in the designation or presenta - tion of a good that indicates or suggests that the good in question originates in a geographical area other than the true place of origin in a manner that misleads the public as to the geographical origin of the good; • any use of a GI that – although literally true as to the territory, region or locality in which the goods originate – falsely represents to the public that the goods originate in another territory; • any use of a GI identifying goods not originating in the place indicated by the GI in question, even where the true origin of the goods is indicated or the GI is used in translation or accompanied by expressions such as “kind”, “type”, “style”, “imita - tion”, “method”, “as produced in” or other similar qualifying terms;
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