How do you reconcile the fact that the Philippines, in a 2022 report, was lucky enough to be excluded from the watchlist of counterfeiting watchdogs when nearly all the popular markets hereabouts had once been flagged for selling knockoffs?
Name it, every Pinoy knows where to find them. These are the places they frequent when they want to buy cheap imitation products — Baclaran, Divisoria, Greenhills, and Cartimar. And who can blame the underpaid budget-conscious Juan de la Cruz for hankering for major international brands at prices barely half of the original?
In his interview on the Daily Tribune’s omni-media show Straight Talk, Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines director-general, Atty. Rowel Barba, said his office has been at the vanguard of intellectual property protection.
He said it is of utmost importance that we continue to be excluded from the 301 reports of the United States Trade Representatives, which annually reviews the global state of intellectual property protection and enforcement. Otherwise, he said, our reputation will be smeared before foreign investors.
Without much tooting of horn, Barba cited how IPOPHL has been coordinating with various government agencies, particularly the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights headed by Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual and co-chaired by himself, to curb the sale of counterfeit goods.
Although IPOPHL does not have the mandate to confiscate counterfeit items under RA 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, it coordinates with those agencies in conducting raids and destroying illicit goods. Their biggest seizure came in 2021 when they confiscated P24.9 billion worth of knockoffs.
“We even raided a six-story building in Pasay City in which all floors were selling fake products,” he said.
And just how do we keep the country out of the watchdogs’ list?
Barba called on local government units to fully enforce the IP Code of 1997. This after the European Commission in its December 2022 Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List report flagged popular markets in the National Capital Region, namely, Baclaran, Divisoria, the Greenhills Shopping Center, and the Cartimar Shopping Center for selling fake products.
That was the first time Philippine markets were cited in the biennial list since its launch in 2018.
To significantly curb counterfeiting and piracy in the local markets, Barba said his office has tapped the Department of the Interior and Local Government to enforce DILG IP-related issuances.
The IPOPHL is slated to host the 69th ASEAN Working Group on IP protection in Bohol this March. This will focus on the updates on the deliverables stipulated in the ASEAN IP Roadmap 2016-2025 and will be attended by representatives from IP partners such as the World Intellectual Property Office, World Intellectual Property Organization, the United States Intellectual Property Office, Japan, and Korea Patent Offices, and the ARISE Plus from the European Union.
For its part, the DILG has mandated its local offices to adopt their own anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy policies to promote respect for IP in their workplaces.
Educating the citizenry on the ill effects of patronizing fake products, Barba said, would help a lot in minimizing the scourge here. But first things first. Lack of financial resources to buy genuine products could be the biggest stumbling block to a well-meaning proposition.
You see, the average Juan de la Cruz certainly would love to have the original. But his pocket just won’t let him.
Besides, Pinoys, as consumers, are natural cheapskates. They go where the bargain hunting is good.
Sa totoo lang, kuripot ang Pinoy.
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