JTI Philippines has called for a more sustained response
against rampant violations of the intellectual property (IP) rights of legitimate businesses even as it lauded the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) for its recent win in prosecuting IP crimes.
“At JTI, we are very pleased to see such IP adjudication in action and coordination amongst the relevant parties, notably IPOPHIL,” said JTI Philippines General Manager John Freda.
Freda added: “We all need to work together to permanently
close the door on opportunities for criminal networks to sell their unregulated products, which undermine legitimate businesses and lead to lost tax revenue since cigarette smuggling deprives government of between P30 billion to P60 billion annually in the Philippines.”
The latest case filed and prosecuted by IPOPHL was resolved
after years of proceedings and culminated in the destruction of over P20 million of counterfeit Winston cigarettes in a waste management facility in Porac, Pampanga.
In a statement issued last week of February, the IPOPHL
reported that 261 master cases of counterfeit Winston brand cigarettes were destroyed at a non-hazardous waste management facility last January 30, 2023.
The counterfeit cigarettes were seized in 2013 by law enforcement units led by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) from a Pasay City storage building belonging to a certain “Feliciano Ching” – which turned out to be an alias.
IPOPHL took years to adjudicate the case because “Ching’s”
true identity and whereabouts could not be ascertained.
In 2020, the IP agency issued its ruling in favor of Japan
Tobacco, Inc. (JTI), the trademark owner of Winston, with the Certificate of Finality being issued early this year – paving the way for the destruction of the seized contrabands.
The destruction was coordinated by the Vergara Mamangun
Jamero Law Office, the legal representative of JTI.
According to the IPOPHL, the decision on the case was
finalized following years of proceedings prompted by JTI’s report to the NBI’s IP Rights Division in 2013, which was then referred to the IP agency for jurisdiction.
Freda stressed that the collaboration of government agencies
as shown in the latest case should be further strengthened considering that illegal trade serves to not only rob state coffers but often finances other criminal activities.
“Moreover, illegal trade is a complex problem, and not the
victimless crime it is perceived to be. Proceeds from illegal tobacco sales often finance much larger criminal activities such as corruption, the smuggling of drugs and weapons, human trafficking and terrorism,” he pointed out.
“What’s more, consumers never know what they are smoking
when they buy illegal tobacco products. Counterfeit cigarettes are not subject to any quality controls and have been found to contain contaminants such as dirt, rat droppings and high levels of lead and cadmium. Genuine JTI packaging
with our trademarks conveys a brand’s identity – our most valuable assets – and rigorous quality standards that are key aspects of our company’s legitimate products,’ the JTI Philippines GM added.
IPOPHL is the government agency mandated to administer and
implement state policies on IP including strengthening IP rights and enforcement of the IP Code of the Philippines, which covers among others, laws on patents, laws on trademarks, service marks and trade names, and laws on copyright.