The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) highlighted the Philippines best practices in the protection of consumer rights, including the country’s efforts to protect against the sale of counterfeit products.

The 2024 Special 301 Report released by the USTR, an annual watch list of US trading partners performance in the protection of intellectual property right (IPR), cited the Philippines’ specialized IP enforcement units and specialized IP courts as proven important catalysts in the fight against counterfeiting and piracy. The Philippines managed to stay away from the Special 301 Watch List for several years in a row already.

The report noted that in March 2024, the Philippines launched a new E-Commerce Bureau under the Department of Trade and Industry, which is intended to focus on protecting consumers and merchants engaged in e-commerce transactions, including to protect against the sale of counterfeit goods online.

The USTR also cited other illustrative best practices by its trading partners in the area of IP protection and enforcement.

In addition, the USTR report cited the Philippines as among countries such as Canada, Japan, and Ukraine, that have adopted laws and enforcement practices designed to prevent unauthorized camcording.

The report said that countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru and Russia do not effectively criminalize unauthorized camcording in theaters.

Another important practice is for the private sector to work on capacity building to help theater managers and employees detect camcording and assist law enforcement, the report added.

However, the report also mentioned the Philippines as one of the leading sources of counterfeit medicines distributed globally.  The report noted of a recent study by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and EU Intellectual Property Office that tagged the Philippines along with China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam as leading sources of fake medicines distributed globally.

According to the report, US brands are the most popular targets for counterfeiters of medical products, and counterfeit US-brand medicines account for 38 percent of global counterfeit medicine seizures.

While it may not be possible to determine an exact figure, the report quoted reports from the World Health Organization (WHO) which noted that China (together with Hong Kong) accounted for over 83 percent of the value (measured by manufacturers’ suggested retail sale price) of counterfeit and pirated goods seized by US Customs and Border Protection.

The USTR urges e-commerce platforms to take proactive and effective steps to reduce piracy and counterfeiting, for example, by establishing and adhering to strong quality control procedures in both direct-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer sales, vetting third-party sellers, engaging with right holders to quickly address complaints, and working with law enforcement to identify IP violators.

In response to the EU’s aggressive promotion of its exclusionary GI (geographic indication) policies, the United States continues its intensive engagement in promoting and protecting access to foreign markets for US exporters of products that are identified by common names or otherwise marketed under previously registered trademarks. 

The report said that the United States is advancing these objectives through its trade agreements, as well as in international fora, including in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, WIPO, and the WTO. In addition to these negotiations, the United States is engaging bilaterally to address concerns resulting from the GI provisions in existing EU trade agreements, agreements under negotiation, and other initiatives, including with Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, New Zealand, Paraguay, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, and Vietnam, among others.

The USTR report further said that many countries, including India, Malaysia, Pakistan, and the Philippines, reportedly have slow opposition or cancellation on trademark, while Panama and Russia have no administrative opposition proceedings. Delays in obtaining registrations present a significant obstacle for protecting IP rights in foreign markets, with stakeholders identifying Bangladesh, Iraq, and South Africa as countries with extreme delays in processing trademark applications.

Countries listed in the Priority Watch List include Argentina, Chile,  China, India, Indonesia, Russia, and Venezuela, while those under the Watch List include Algeria,  Barbados,  Belarus,  Bolivia, Brazil,  Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago,  Türkiye, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.