IPOPHL Eyes Collaboration to Boost Student IP Rights Awareness

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said it wants to collaborate with the Department of Education (DepEd) and Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to increase student awareness of intellectual property (IP) rights. “We’re looking forward to sitting down with DepEd and CHED to see how we could be able to increase the understanding of IP even at a younger age,” IPOPHL Director-General Teodoro C. Pascua told reporters on the sidelines of an IPOPHL forum on Monday. Education initiatives are needed to help build an IP-centric culture in an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven economy, he said. Mr. Pascua said an IP culture facilitates commercialization of original. “Students should learn not only to absorb knowledge, but also to create it. They also must understand that their ideas have value that can become IP,” he said in a speech. Mr. Pascua noted that the IPOPHL is looking to strengthen its collaboration with DepEd, CHED, and the Philippine Science High School System, where students are encouraged to develop innovations that may eventually become patentable technologies. The agency is also looking to go beyond IP registration to commercialization to help creators profit from their work. He said collaboration among the government, industry, and academia is critical to ensure this. “Our goal is not simply to increase patent filings, but to ensure that protected innovations become businesses, products, exports, technologies, and solutions that improve people’s lives,” Mr. Pascua said. An IP-centric culture will also help promote the use of responsible AI and respect the rights of creators, he said. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz