The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said that the Hague online system that allows designers to file a single industrial designs (IDs) application with minimal paperwork is expected to benefit small and medium enterprises (SMEs) due to lower filing fees compared to individual filings in each country.
IPOPHL said that the Philippines is adapting the Hague Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Industrial Designs by 2024 for local designers to experience a simplified and cost-effective way to protect their designs globally.
“With the Hague System, a local designer would have a way to protect their IDs in multiple jurisdictions through a simplified international filing system,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.
This centralized management system also allows applicants flexibility in targeting national or regional markets.
“We encourage more designers to take advantage of this once in place, hopefully, next year upon our accession,” Barba added.
In 2022, Asia comprised 22.9 percent or 7,973 of the total Hague system international applications, an increase of 18.8 percent from three percent in 2012.
Currently, there are 79 member states – or 96 countries as inter-governmental organizations are also allowed to accede to the Agreement – under the Hague System.
Upon its accession in 2024, the Philippines will be the fifth country in the ASEAN to be a member of the agreement, following Brunei, Cambodia, Singapore, and Vietnam.
However, IPOPHL noted that low awareness among local designers about the value of IDs is a major challenge.
“A lot of our local designers don’t register their designs due to lack of awareness of the value of IDs. That’s the first major hurdle, which requires increasing public awareness,” Bureau of Patents Director Ann N. Edillon said.
“In the end, we hope to help them understand that there’s actual value in the design itself,” she added.
A 2018 World IP Organization study found that export revenues from design exceed typical export shares in firms, suggesting design innovation may be an effective way to achieve growth in foreign markets.
The survey of 268 ID holders revealed that they value their rights significantly, with an average value of $30,000 to $100,000.
To ensure local stakeholders will be ready to take advantage of the Hague Agreement upon accession next year, IPOPHL will be conducting information caravans and other campaigns to spread the word at ground level.
Meanwhile, the public consultation held in August provided an avenue to clarify the proposed rules to designer stakeholders and also extracted invaluable recommendations from stakeholders to expand the reach of IPOPHL’s ID programs and information sessions.
IPOPHL Deputy Director General Ann Claire C. Cabochan underscored the importance of the public consultations in gaining the stakeholders’ views, particularly to determine points for cooperation and areas where IPOPHL, as a member of the National Innovation Council, can provide further support to designers.
“As we go about our work, we are guided by what we would like to achieve, which is an enabling IP ecosystem. We appreciate the honest exchange of views during the consultation. These inputs will be pertinent to IPOPHL’s goal of seeing more and better designs to support our creative and innovative future,” Cabochan said.