PH Intellectual Property Office Launches Patent Protection Incentive Program “Juana Patent and Juana Design” for MSMEs
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) established a patent protection incentive program for micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs). The program called “Juana Patent and Juana Design” aims to encourage them to protect their intellectual property that may be the proper subject of invention, utility model and industrial design applications, and to enhance their creative capacity and competitiveness. The program also aims to complement the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in encouraging business registration of MSMEs.
The incentive package includes waiver of various fees, in favor of fifty (50) inventions, one hundred and fifty (150) utility models, and one hundred and fifty (150) industrial designs for qualified applicants. The fees to be waived may include filing fees, first publication fee, and substantive examination fee.
To be eligible for the incentives program, the individual, MSME, or start-up must be engaged in a business activity considered as a priority sector by DTI or by IPOPHL. The business name of the applicant must be registered with the DTI, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), and the total assets of the business must not exceed Php 100 million. The applicant must be engaged in business for at least one (1) year or with limited financial capability or other similar conditions indicating inadequate financial capacity. If the applicant is an enterprise, it shall have no more than twenty (20) employees. The business must be located in areas prone to natural disaster or facing social or economic challenges. The applicant must not have availed of funding under Republic Act No. 7459 otherwise known as the Inventors and Inventions Incentive Act of the Philippines.
Because the program also aims to to boost the participation of women inventors and designers in the country’s innovation scene, at least one applicant, co-inventor, co-maker or co-designer must be a woman who is a Philippine national, or if the applicant is an MSME, it must be a woman-led or woman-owned Philippine enterprise domiciled in the Philippines.
To avail of the incentive package, the applications shall be filed through the Intellectual Property Satellite Offices (IPSOs) in the regions and the IPSO National Capital Region at the IPOPHL Office which will screen the eligibility of the applications for the waiver of fees.
The protection incentive is a one-time privilege, but the applicants are still free to avail of other IPOPHL incentive packages for other applications. Furthermore, the availment of this program does not automatically confer a grant of Certificate of Grant or Registration. The qualified applications must still undergo the regular registration/grant process.
Juana Patent and Juana Design will run from April 15, 2022 to April 30, 2023 and may be availed of by qualified applicants until the maximum number of applications as specified above have been filed and qualified.
For more information, read here