Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo reaffirmed the high bench’s commitment to sustaining its partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) beyond his tenure, expressing confidence that judicial cooperation in the field of IP would continue to grow in the years ahead.

These initiatives aim to strengthen judicial expertise in IP adjudication and deepen international cooperation on emerging issues in innovation and technology.

This comes as the Supreme Court (SC) highlights its longstanding collaboration with WIPO. Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo welcomed WIPO Director General Daren Tang and his delegation during a courtesy call recently at the SC En Banc Session Hall in Ermita, Manila.

Joining Chief Justice Gesmundo and Director General Tang were SC Associate Justices Japar B. Dimaampao and Maria Filomena D. Singh; Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) Chancellor and retired SC Associate Justice Edgardo L. Delos Santos; Court of Tax Appeals Associate Justice Maria Rowena S. San Pedro; PHILJA Vice Chancellor Sedfrey M. Candelaria; PHILJA Chief of Office for Academic Affairs Dean Emerito I. Enginco; PHILJA Commercial Law Department Member and Marikina City Regional Trial Court Judge Romeo Tagra; WIPO Director for Division for Asia and the Pacific Andrew Ong; WIPO Singapore Office Director Thitapha Wattanapruttipaisan; WIPO Singapore Office Counsellor Loh Wei Tian; Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Director General Atty. Teodoro C. Pascua; and other SC officials and personnel.

During the meeting, Chief Justice Gesmundo underscored the Judiciary’s enduring partnership with WIPO in strengthening judges’ capacity to adjudicate intellectual property (IP) disputes amid rapid technological and economic change.

He cited years of cooperation in judicial education, including the development of specialized resources for judges handling IP cases. He also acknowledged WIPO’s support for training programs that have sharpened Philippine courts’ ability to resolve increasingly complex, often cross-border, IP disputes.

Gesmundo congratulated Director General Tang on his leadership of WIPO and expressed hope that the Philippines would continue to expand its role as an IP development hub across Southeast Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

Director General Tang, for his part, thanked the Philippines for its strong and consistent cooperation with WIPO over the years. He noted that Philippine jurisprudence has gained international visibility through WIPO’s global database, which now includes 64 significant Philippine intellectual property decisions serving as references for courts and legal practitioners worldwide.

He also expressed WIPO’s desire to deepen its partnership with the Philippine Judiciary and explore the country’s potential as a regional hub for IP training and judicial exchange.

The meeting also paved the way for several upcoming collaborative initiatives between the SC and WIPO, including the participation of Philippine Judiciary representatives in the 2026 WIPO Intellectual Property Judges Forum to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 14 to 15 October 2026, where Justice Singh will deliver a lecture.

Discussions likewise covered the National Judicial Colloquium on Intellectual Property Adjudication in the Philippines, scheduled for 6 to 7 November 2026, to be jointly organized with IPOPHL.