PHILIPPINES Trends and Developments Contributed by: Susan D. Villanueva, Patricia A. O. Bunye, Rowanie A. Nakan and John Patrick M. Santos, Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
The post-pandemic economic landscape in the Philippines is marked by growing innovation and a legal regime that facilitates intellectual property (IP) rights protection and enforcement, making it a viable investment gateway into the Southeast Asian region. At the forefront of this technol- ogy and IP-centred ecosystem is the Intellec- tual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), with support from other government agencies, including the judiciary, and the private sector. With a population of more than 110 million in 2024, second only to Indonesia in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is a major market in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, food, and mobile phone industries. Thus, IP owners must take this jurisdiction into account in their overall IP policy and strategy. Trend in Numbers The Southeast Asia Patent Landscape Report shows that the Philippines ranked 6th in 2022 among Southeast Asian countries in terms of number of patent applications. In 2023, the Philippines saw a 37.5% increase in patent applications, stirred by a higher rate of resident applications. Utility model application and industrial design application filings simi- larly increased in 2023 by 26.31% and 43.98%, respectively. Based on industry, most patent filings in 2023 were from the semiconductor industry, which accounted for 19% of the total filings. This was followed by electrical machinery, apparatus, and energy; food chemistry; pharmaceuticals; and measurement, each of which accounted for 6.3% of the total filings. On the other hand, industrial designs for furnishings had the highest number of industrial design applications filed at
14.8%, followed by packages and containers at 12.6%. To facilitate even more resident filings, in 2024, the IPOPHL increased accessibility to its Inven- tor Assistance Program (IAP), a programme developed together with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). IAP matches inventors, especially those with less resources, with patent experts to help the former with pat- ent drafting and prosecution services for free. There is also an incentive programme that accords green technology applications priority status and reduced government fees. The IPOPHL’s efforts facilitated the recognition of the Philippines as one of the fastest risers in the Global Innovation Index (GII) in the last ten years, as it rose from 100th place in 2014 to 53rd in 2024. Specifically, the GII recognises the Philippines’ performance as “above expec- tation for [its] level of development”, ranking it third among the lower middle-income group. With this, the Philippines beat its target of rank- ing 54th by 2024, as projected in the Philippine Development Plan for 2023-2028. The same plan envisions the Philippines entering the top 50 countries by 2026. Creating a More Conducive Environment for IP in the Philippines With its Philippine Intellectual Property Strategy (PHIPS) for Years 2025-2030, the IPOPHL envi- sions the Philippines as a “Hapag-Isipan” – ie, a Banquet of Ideas. The strategy focuses on increasing IP awareness and providing support to smaller businesses and local partnerships. Part of this strategy involves action points such as conducting targeted capacity building for micro, small, and medium-
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