The Philippines has been elected as chair of the 21-member countries of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group (APEC-IPEG), a new role seen to expand the reach of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) in championing the intellectual property (IP) system.
“We are grateful for the trust given to us by the APEC member economies. Their confidence in IPOPHL derives from the efforts we have been delivering and outcomes we have been achieving in the Philippines and in the ASEAN as chair of the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation (AWGIPC). IPOPHL, on behalf of the Philippines, will strive to pursue a facilitative and inclusive IP landscape in the Asia-Pacific region,” Director General Rowel S. Barba said.
Barba shared that during the nomination for the next IPEG head following the chairmanship of the Republic of Korea (ROK), the Philippines has been approached by several APEC member economies encouraging IPOPHL to vie for the IPEG chairmanship in view of its remarkable chairmanship at the AWGIPC, as well as the good work the Philippines is doing in the region.
Under Barba’s chairmanship of the AWGIPC, the implementation of the ASEAN IP Rights Action Plan 2016-2025 accelerated. Deliverables completed increased from 37.5% in March 2021 to 72% as of December 2022. Among the deliverables that the Philippines helped complete or start during Barba’s term are the establishment of the ASEAN IP Academy; the study of best practices on IP valuation; and the feasibility studies on a unitary patent system in ASEAN and the harmonization of formality requirements for industrial design applications.
This time, as IPEG chair, IPOPHL will focus on advancing meaningful discussions toward workable outcomes in IP financing; IP in the digital economy and interconnectivity; IP for sustainable and inclusive growth; and other cross-cutting issues in IP.
“We hope to stir conversations that highlight exciting opportunities in a borderless knowledge-driven world and the challenges IP rights holders in the APEC region face with respect to emerging global trends and needs. Ultimately, we hope IPEG can put forward activities and policy insights that are relevant to member economies based on their respective economic development and needs,” Barba added.
He is optimistic that IPEG’s activities under IPOPHL’s term will contribute to the goals set by the Putrajaya Vision 2040 (PV2040). PV2040 is APEC’s new blueprint to achieve an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040 through the pursuit of three economic drivers: trade and investment; innovation and digitalization; and a strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth.
The new IPEG chair also intends to continue the stakeholder engagement initiated by ROK and strengthen cooperation with other fora such as the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), World Trade Organization (WTO) and the ASEAN.
“IP-related issues to be raised by private stakeholders will be heard and addressed by the group. As such, key stakeholders and even MSMEs, independent innovators and creators are enjoined to contribute to the table. The wealth of their experience in various markets and environments can help us design a comprehensive IP protection framework that could help everyone cope with the cutting-edge technologies and other developments of our time,” Barba said.
“With now a wider-reach, IPOPHL hopes to repeat its ongoing success in the Philippines and the ASEAN by strengthening the cooperative spirit in the APEC region,” Barba added.
The APEC-IPEG was formed in 1996, then called the IP Rights Get-Together of the Committee on Trade and Investment before becoming an official APEC group.
IPEG aims to ensure the adequate and effective protection of IP rights in the Asia-Pacific region through legislative, administrative and enforcement mechanisms, anchored on the WTO's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (the TRIPS Agreement) and other related agreements.
Composed of 21 member economies, APEC is a regional economic forum established in 1989 to leverage the growing interdependence of the Asia-Pacific.
An estimated 2.9 billion people, accounting for 38 percent of the global population, inhabited the APEC region in 2020. With a nominal GDP of $52 trillion, the region accounted for 62 percent of the global nominal GDP and contributed 48 percent to the global trade in goods and commercial services.
In 2018, the majority of the Philippines’ economic and commercial transactions around the world occurred within the region, with its member economies accounting for 84% of its total global trade; 82% of total exports; and 85% of total imports.