THE Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said intellectual property (IP) filings declined 5.5% year on year in the first half, led by the trademarks segment.
Filings for trademarks in the six months declined 8% year on year to 18,599, with residents accounting for 12,206 or 65.6% of the applications.
Pharmaceutical, health and cosmetic products accounted for 18.7% of trademark filings, followed by agricultural products and services (17.9%), and scientific research, information and communication technology (13.5%).
IPOPHL said that the lower trademark filings reflected the economy’s slower growth during the period.
“Historically, trademark filing activities have been more active in the second semester so we continue to monitor the trend to see if a reversal is still possible,” Mr. Barba added.
Patent applications rose 9% year on year to 2,134. Non-residents accounted for 1,916 applications or 90%.
Pharmaceuticals accounted for 24.47% of patent applications, followed by organic fine chemistry and digital communications with 10.58% and 7.89%, respectively.
Filings for Utility Models (UMs) grew 27.7% in the six months to 835 applications, with residents accounting for 96%.
Top sources of UM filings were the food chemistry (55.6%), basic materials chemistry (8.9%), and pharmaceuticals (5.6%) industries.
Applications to register Industrial Designs (IDs) rose 17.6% to 635 filings in the first half, with residents accounting for 53.1%.
The transport or hoisting industry topped ID applications with 15.4%, followed by furnishing (11.1%) and packaging and containers for the transport or handling of goods (10.8%).
Copyright registrations rose 64.5% year on year to 2,833 filings. Books, pamphlets, articles, e-books, audio books, comics, novels and other writings accounted for 60.4% of applications, followed by computer programs, software, games and apps (10.6%); and musical compositions (8.8%).
“For the rest of 2023, IPOPHL will continue to vigorously promote IP protection more than ever. Tempered business activity should not translate to decreased IP protection,” Deputy Director General Ann Claire C. Cabochan said.
“We thus reiterate the long-term opportunities of strongly protected IP and remind the business community of the irreversible consequences they face when they fail to protect their prized IP assets,” she added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile