TAGUIG - The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and the French Patent and Trademarks Office (INPI) have formalized their commitment to carry out their cooperation agreement after recently signing a joint work plan that outlines capacity-building and information exchange activities aimed for completion by 2025, according to the official website of IPOPHL.

IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba and INPI Chief Executive Officer Pascal Faure signed the work plan last April 25 at the sidelines of the ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation meetings. 

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was signed last year, enjoins IPOPHL and INPI to collaborate on areas that will promote a culture of IP creation, protection, utilization, management and enforcement, strengthen assessment of IP applications, train IP professionals and develop human resources.

Under the work plan, parties will undertake several activities to build IPOPHL’s patent mapping and analytics services that could support innovation-driven companies and startups in finding their competitive edge in the market.

IPOPHL and INPI will also be conducting a series of learning events to help MSMEs understand how they can harness geographical indications (GIs) for their growth. Several awareness and education projects are also in the pipeline. 

“Our cooperation plan with INPI includes a series of activities that will deepen IPOPHL’s capabilities and bring IP to more individuals and businesses. We hope to encourage more to create, innovate and thrive on the value of their protected IP assets,” Barba said.

He added that laying down specific activities and targets in the work plan is IPOPHL’s way to ensure that cooperation and partnership agreements are maximized and will deliver meaningful outcomes benefiting both parties and their stakeholders.