Following World IP Day on 26 April, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has formally released guidance on enforcement for sports event broadcasts and related merchandise. The practical point is clear: illegal live streaming is now being treated as a time-sensitive copyright enforcement problem, with right holders expected to use pre-filed information to seek temporary blocking of specific infringing domains.For sports brands and content distributors, the value lies less in a new slogan and more in timing. A pirated match stream can capture its audience within...
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) formally awarded the geographical indication (GI) registration certificate for T'nalak Tau Sebu on 13 July during the opening activities of the 60th T'nalak Festival. Provincial officials and representatives of seven cooperatives under T'nalak Tau Sebu, Inc. received the certificate. The GI, registered on 4 March 2026, covers the handwoven abaca textile produced by T'boli communities in Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, using traditional backstrap looms and natural dyes. It builds on collective trademark protection secured in 2017 by...
In the Philippines, the latest shift in copyright registration is no longer just a policy update on paper. By the week of 17 June 2026, the market signal had become much clearer in practice: applications now move through IPOPHL’s electronic filing channel, not the old paper-based route, and the registration process is being treated more openly as a substantive screening point rather than a clerical formality.The sharper development is the refusal logic now sitting inside that workflow. Under the revised framework, “lack of human authorship,” originality, and creative expression are squarely...
On June 26, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) publicly warned businesses against a UK-linked outfit calling itself “Crown Mark”. The pitch was familiar in one sense and more sophisticated in another: a third party was supposedly about to file the recipient’s brand, and only urgent paid action could stop the damage. IPOPHL said it has no official relationship with that entity at all.At almost the same moment, a second signal from the Philippines became harder to ignore. IPOPHL has been pressing for updates to the IP Code and related rules as technology changes...
On 30 June 2026, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) used the aftermath of the Philippines’ sixth WTO Trade Policy Review to put two strands in the same frame: its position inside the PCT system and its capability-building work for examining inventions involving artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies. That pairing matters. It shows the Philippines is no longer presenting intellectual property as a narrow domestic legal file, but as part of the country’s wider trade, innovation and digital-governance infrastructure.For businesses, the significance...
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has moved its patent and trademark agent recognition framework from transition into practical enforcement. Memorandum Circulars No. 12 and No. 13 were not newly issued in 2026: both took effect on 22 August 2024 and were publicly highlighted by IPOPHL on 28 August 2024. The rules allowed 24 months for patent representatives and 18 months for trademark representatives to transition, meaning the trademark window expired in February 2026 and the patent window closed on 22 August 2026.For applicants and IP firms, the question is no...
On 28 August 2026, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) formally launched its Agent Recognition e-Portal, following the implementation of Memoranda Nos. 12 and 13 on mandatory agent recognition. IPOPHL has urged active firms handling foreign trademark and patent matters to complete registration and identity verification without delay. Under the announced transition, from the next quarter key trademark communications, including Office Actions and notices of allowance or approval, are expected to be routed only to the registered email addresses of verified agents,...
The ASEAN Secretariat announced on 20 September that the fourth ASEAN Economic Ministers–WIPO (AEM-WIPO) Consultation, held in Manila, welcomed the launch of new value-added services on the ASEAN IP Register: an IP Portfolio service and an IP Intelligence service, intended to give ASEAN stakeholders better data to inform their innovation decisions. The meeting also reviewed progress under the ASEAN–WIPO Memorandum of Understanding on the Expansion of Cooperation in Specific Areas, which currently oversees 44 activities for the advancement of the IP ecosystem in ASEAN.The ASEAN IP...
