IPOPHL recently achieved a major win in advancing global innovation. This month, we have secured the designation and recognition of the United States Patent and Trademark Office as a competent International Searching Authority and International Patent Examining Authority (ISA/IPEA).

This move elevated our status to that of esteemed intellectual property (IP) offices like the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), European Patent Office (EPO), Japan Patent Office (JPO), IP Australia (IPAU), IP Office of Singapore (IPOS), and Israel Patent Office (ILPO). These offices are the only ones among the 24 ISA/IPEAs in operation to have earned USPTO's mark of trust.

This shows how IPOPHL has demonstrated its commitment to excellence in international patent services.

It all started In 2017 when the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) contracting states unanimously endorsed IPOPHL as an ISA/IPEA. Since May 2019, IPOPHL has been serving as the competent international authority for applicants in the Philippines. This designation benefits local inventors by providing easier and faster coordination, as they now have an ISA/IPEA closer to home.

As an ISA/IPEA, IPOPHL issues international search reports, identifying relevant patent documents and technical literature as prior art. Additionally, IPOPHL provides a written opinion detailing how this prior art may affect an invention's patentability. This process allows applicants to amend their patent applications based on the findings, and they can request an international preliminary examination for an additional patentability analysis.

Over the years, several efforts have led to positive outcomes that elevate IPOPHL’s patent services on multidimensional fronts, whether it was streamlining internal services, accessing larger databases and literature relevant especially to emerging technologies or advancing our examiners’ skills. IPOPHL has been scaling its training of patent examiners to keep in step with the latest trends in technology. We have also been increasing manpower to accommodate the rise of patent, utility model and industrial design applications over the years.

Our commitment and efforts to serve as an ISA/IPEA have led to greater consistency in ensuring the accuracy, comprehensiveness and timeliness of our search and examination reports. True to form, WIPO shows through its latest PCT Yearly Review that our timeliness ratings at 80 percent for international search reports transmitted within three months from request and 100 percent for international search reports transmitted within the nine-months deadline. These rates are above those of other ISA/IPEA offices.

What sets IPOPHL apart from other ISA/IPEAs is its extensive experience — 77 years of conducting patent and search examination services to be exact, making us one of the most established in the world. Additionally, having the most advanced patent quality review system in the ASEAN makes IPOPHL a great ISA/IPEA of choice for those eyeing the booming ASEAN market. The region booked an all-time-record of $224 billion of foreign direct investment flows in 2022, making it the top recipient of investment within the developing world.

With this designation, IPOPHL is one of the ISA/IPEAs the USPTO will be recommending to US patent applicants eyeing global markets. IPOPHL is ready to take on more responsibilities, especially as we expect an increase in designations from other countries and inventors seeking our ISA/IPEA services.

Let us celebrate this groundbreaking achievement as IPOPHL continues to make its way in the history of global innovation.