THE INTELLECTUAL Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said IP registration applications rose 4.4% year on year in the first nine months as economic activity picked up.
During the period, IPOPHL said filings for trademarks, patents, utility models (UM), and industrial designs (ID) totaled 36,709, against the 35,172 applications posted a year earlier.
“The latest figures show impressive recovery in IP filings as we are on track to exceeding pre-pandemic volumes. This is largely driven by increased economic activity as quarantine restrictions have de-escalated in many areas to their laxest yet,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said in a statement Thursday.
According to the IPOPHL, trademark filings rose 5.6% to 31,665. Residents accounted for 62% or 19,762 filings.
Patent filings increased 2.3% to 3,116. The patent filings were dominated by non-residents, accounting for 90% of the total.
ID filings, or applications that safeguard the unique appearance of a product, rose 1% to 923. Non-residents accounted for 516 filings or 56% of the total.
UM filings, which provide patent-like protection for shorter periods with a less rigorous application process, dropped 17.2% to 1,005. Residents accounted for 96% of the UM filings.
IPOPHL said that 19% of trademark filings were from the pharmaceuticals, health, and cosmetics industries, followed by agricultural products and services (16.8%), and scientific research, information and communication technology (14.5%).
Patent filings were dominated by pharmaceuticals (29.3%), organic fine chemistry (11.6%), and biotechnology (8.6%).
ID applications were led by means of transport or hoisting at 18.7%, followed by packages and containers for transport or handling of goods at 9.1%, and furnishing at 8.4%.
UM applications were dominated by food chemistry at 46.8%, other special machines at 9.1%, and IT methods for management at 4.4%.
Separately, IPOPHL said copyright registrations surged 69.1% to 2,602 filings. The applications were led by books, pamphlets, articles, e-books, audio books, comics, novels and other writings (29%), followed by other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works (27.8%), and drawings, paintings, architectural works, sculpture, engraving, prints, lithography or other works of art, models or designs for works of art (9.3%). — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
