The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Atty. Rowel Barba has been recognized by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) for his leadership in strengthening IPOPHL’s presence across the country and the ASEAN region. WIPO commended Barba for expanding IPOPHL’s transformative role and contributing to global efforts promoting innovation and creativity.

Officials from IPOPHL, the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh met with WIPO Director General Daren Tang and his team last week. During the meeting, they reviewed their ongoing collaboration and discussed expanding areas of cooperation.

Tang praised Barba’s leadership not only as the head of an IP office but also for his role as chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC). Tang noted Barba’s efforts in strengthening the WIPO-ASEAN partnership, which led to significant achievements in raising IP awareness, protection, and enforcement in the region.

Barba’s leadership in 2021 as AWGIPC chair was particularly impactful, accelerating the implementation of the ASEAN IP Rights Action Plan 2016-2025. His AIM strategy — “Accelerating the completion of deliverables,” “Intensifying coordination,” and “Modernizing processes through digital transformation” — helped resolve bottlenecks, increasing the completion rate of deliverables from 38 percent to 75 percent.

Beyond AWGIPC, Barba also made significant contributions as head of the ASEAN Network of IP Enforcement Experts (ANIEE) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s IP Rights Experts Group (APEC-IPEG).

At ANIEE, Barba enabled deeper coordination among enforcement authorities across ASEAN member states and helped enhance enforcement capabilities in disrupting counterfeit trade and online piracy.

However, it was in the broader APEC region that Barba truly expanded IPOPHL’s regional role by championing inclusive discussions, amplifying the voice of underrepresented groups, and developing workable outcomes to boost innovation and creativity in APEC with the members’ level of development in mind.

Looking at IPOPHL’s recent efforts beyond ASEAN, WIPO’s Tang also commended the Philippines’ cooperation in the multilateral system, particularly IPOPHL’s active participation in the May 2024 negotiations on the Treaty on IP, genetic resources, and traditional knowledge associated with genetic resources, which led to a historic consensus to adopt the treaty.

Tang expressed hopes of seeing the same level of dedication from IPOPHL in positively concluding the negotiations for the Design Law Treaty (DLT), which are currently ongoing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

For his part, Barba assured IPOPHL’s commitment to the DLT, noting the significant benefits Filipino designers could gain from the treaty.

Barba also expressed his gratitude to Tang and the WIPO team for their immense support and projects implemented in the Philippines in the past years.

“We are thankful to WIPO for continuously believing in the potential of our innovators, creators, and businesses. We are grateful for the confidence given to IPOPHL to deliver on its projects and programs as we ensure the maximum reach and impact of each initiative entrusted to us," Barba said during the dialogue.

"With each activity we carry out with WIPO’s support, the Philippines moves more communities to build a culture of IP respect, protecting the value of IP assets, and empowering societies through IP,” he added.