MSME urged to protect their IPR

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) again recently called on the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to protect their intellectual property rights (IPR), highlighting the importance of trademarks in their business.

“Normally, these trademarks are just applied for by the big companies but because of the effort and because the government has been popularizing it, even the MSME are now more aware of need to register their brands,” DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said.

Lopez said the agency has been providing free trademark registration services to list many MSME.

He cited Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) data where intellectual property filings in 2018 rose 15 percent year-on-year, with utility models pushing growth 54 percent higher than in 2017.

Patents followed, surging by 28 percent; trademarks followed with 11 percent and industrial design with 9 percent.

Apart from the initiatives of the IPOPHL, Lopez said the DTI has launched a campaign popularizing the importance of registering trademarks, patents and copyrights.

This will enable the people, especially brand owners, to make sure they are able to hold their business together and aware about the importance of their rights and having their brands registered, he added.