high court reaffirms partnership with WIPO

Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo has reaffirmed the Philippine Judiciary’s commitment to sustaining its partnership with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to sharpen local judicial expertise in handling complex technology and innovation disputes.

Gesmundo met with WIPO director general Daren Tang during a courtesy call at the Supreme Court En Banc Session Hall in Ermita, Manila, alongside Associate Justices Japar B. Dimaampao and Maria Filomena D. Singh, Philippine Judicial Academy officials, and Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines director general Teodoro C. Pascua.

During the meeting, Gesmundo expressed confidence that judicial cooperation in intellectual property adjudication would continue to expand beyond his tenure, pointing to years of joint training programs and specialized resources developed for trial judges.

Tang commended the Philippine Judiciary for its consistent cooperation, highlighting that Philippine jurisprudence has gained global visibility through WIPO’s international database, which now features 64 significant domestic IP rulings serving as reference points for legal practitioners worldwide.

Tang added that WIPO aims to explore the Philippines’ potential as a regional hub for IP training across Southeast Asia.

The meeting outlined several joint initiatives, including Philippine judicial participation in the 2026 WIPO Intellectual Property Judges Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, on 14 to 15 October, where Justice Singh is scheduled to deliver a lecture.

The Supreme Court and IPOPHL will also jointly organize the National Judicial Colloquium on Intellectual Property Adjudication in the Philippines on 6 to 7 November.