Trademark registration is an important task for any business owner as it protects the trademark from use and appropriation by others.  Before starting a business, it is highly recommended that the brands or names which are intended to be used on goods or services be protected by filing an application for trademark registration.  Registration of trademarks ensures that the owner’s intellectual property rights over them... Continue Reading

If you are an owner of a trademark registration in the Philippines, there are several maintenance requirements to look after in order to ensure that your registration is kept valid and enforceable.  Ownership of trademarks in the Philippines not only depends on its successful registration before the Intellectual Property Office.  This ownership, and its continued validity, depends on the owner’s ability to actually use the... Continue Reading

Pursuant to IPOPHL Memorandum Circular No. 16-012 entitled “IPOPHL Revised Fee Structure of 2017” issued last November 29, 2016, the official fees of the Philippine Intellectual Property Office increased across the board by as much as 20%.  The new IPO fee structure took effect in January 1, 2017.  The augmentation of the official fees was made mainly to address inflation and rising operation costs and... Continue Reading

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines recently released the IP Statistics for 2016.  This annual release covers relevant data on trademarks, patent, utility model, industrial design and copyright filings handled by the Intellectual Property Office for the year, offering stakeholders a glimpse at the yearly trend and movement in the volume and types of applications filed. Trademarks Based on the recent IP Statistics, the... Continue Reading

October 4, 2016 In a bid to get exclusive rights over the use of the word METRO for print and online publications, ABS-CBN Publishing, Inc. filed an opposition to the registration of the trademark HOY! METRO filed by Jose Miguel Manalo.   ABS-CBN based its opposition on the prior registrations for METRO HOME and METROWEAR.  The first mark is being used by ABS-CBN on magazines, both... Continue Reading

September 30, 2016 Petitions filed by Key Largo Car Accessories seeking the cancellation of certain industrial design registrations for car mat designs were recently denied by the Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO).  Through four separate decisions, the BLA upheld the validity of four industrial design registrations for car mats registered in the name of Alwin T. Go. Key Largo Car... Continue Reading