THE PHILIPPINES has stayed out of the European Commission’s intellectual property rights (IPR) watch list since last being listed in 2019, with officials touting the achievement as a mark of the country’s attractiveness as a potential investment destination.
“Our exclusion from the list from 2019 signifies that we remain an attractive investment destination to trade partners. We have come a long way in maintaining a safe IP climate in tune with global economic standards,” Rowel S. Barba, director general of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), said.
The watch list is a biennial publication that identifies countries that pose a high level of concern to IP rights holders in the European Union.
Topping the list was China which was the sole country listed as “priority one” due to the “persistence of IP rights violations through piracy and counterfeiting, paired with inconsistent IPR law enforcement and application.”
In the priority two category are India and Turkey, while the priority three countries are Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Thailand.
“We acknowledge that there is much more work to be done to ensure a clean and reliable marketplace for IP rights owners across all nations. Since our last mention as a priority three (country), we have doubled down our efforts to safeguard our investment attractiveness,” Mr. Barba said.
The IPOPHL reported a 40% decrease in reports and complaints on counterfeiting and piracy it received in the 11 months to November 2022. — Justine Irish D. Tabile