IPOPHL expands access to patent protection program

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is bringing its Inventor Assistance Program (IAP) closer to the country’s regions, making the intellectual property (IP) system more accessible to Filipinos and shaping the innovation space to be more inclusive.

From a one-man team, the IAP Program at IPOPHL is now strengthened with a Technical Working Group (TWG) of 23 members to be led by Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau (DITTB) Director Ralph Jarvis H. Alindogan as supervising director and DITTB Assistant Director Chamlette D. Garcia as focal person.

The committee is tasked to screen eligible applicants and promote the IAP to more inventors nationwide. The TWG primarily tapped as members the officers of IPOPHL’s 16 IP Satellite Offices (IPSOs) which are distributed strategically across the country’s regions.

“With the IPSO officially and more deeply in the fold of the IAP mission, we are optimistic in bridging more Filipino inventors to broader possibilities by ensuring their IP creations are safeguarded before anything else,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said.

The IAP is a project in collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO established the program to pair resource-poor inventors with patent experts who provide highly valuable patent drafting and prosecution services free of charge.

Barba said another crucial aspect of the IAP is its broader assistance to inventors in society. Many inventors who have no affiliation with universities and research institutions may not be receiving proper in-house support in their IP protection journey.

Barba highlighted the success story of Dr. Lizah Dorao, who saw the patent application for her nerve regenerating technology approved under the Philippines’ IAP.

Dorao, a medical officer and flight surgeon at the Philippine Air Force, was struggling with her patent filing procedure until she learned about the IAP on IPOPHL’s website. The lone IAP focal person then, IP Rights Specialist Dindo Dumali, immediately linked her to pro-bono agents Dr. Armando Reosura of Carlos Hilado Memorial State University and Engr. Theda Mae Salvania-Dumali of the Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI).

“Then the rest was history, marking the first patent to be granted under the IAP and showing proof of the IAP’s impact,” Barba said.

With the expanded reach of the program, Barba is hopeful that the IAP could uncover more Philippine innovations that are “game-changing and life-changing” and make patent protection possible to reward under-resourced inventors for their ingenuity and hard work.

To know more about the IAP and how to apply, read on this webpage or brochure. (Janina Lim/IPOPHL)