Hong Kong, 5 December 2022 – The Philippine Trade and Investment Center (PTIC) in Hong Kong together with the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), explored IP business collaboration opportunities in the Business Intellectual Property (BIP) Asia 2022 last 1-2 December 2022 in Hong Kong. In the event, IPOPHL Director General and Chairman of ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation, Atty. Rowel S. Barba, highlighted the Philippines’ hopes of setting up a portal to provide data and other legal and business information on the copyright-based industries in the ASEAN region.

Jointly organized by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Hong Kong SAR) Government, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and Hong Kong Design Centre (HKDC), the hybrid event gathered IP professionals and business leaders worldwide to share the landscape and investment climate of IP industry.

As a panelist during the forum, “Policy Dialogue – Aspiration to Action: Co-creating a Resilient and Sustainable IP Ecosystem,” Atty. Barba cited numerous breakthroughs that support business needs including the development of unified IP platforms and databases.

Atty. Barba stated in his speech, “Our ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation (ASPEC), for example, is a patent work-sharing program among ASEAN IP Offices that reduces duplication; shares search and examination results; and produces quality reports helpful for inventors and investors alike.”

“In keeping with the IP capacity needs of emerging knowledge-based industries in the region, the AWGIPC also launched the ASEAN IP Academy, which aims to elevate businesses’ expertise in IP protection, creation, licensing and commercialization in the region.” He added.

Atty. Rowel S. Barba, in speech during the panel discussion on 1 December 2022.
Philippine delegation during the BIP Asia 2022: Atty. Rowel S. Barba, DG of the IPOPHL (Middle); Atty. Raly L. Tejada, Consul General of the Philippines to Hong Kong (Left most); and, Atty. Roberto B. Mabalot, Jr., Vice Consul Commercial and Commercial Attache of the PTIC-HK (Right most).

Other speakers in the panel discussion were Mr. Daren Tang, Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization; Mr. Anthony Taubman, Director of the Intellectual Property Division of the World Trade Organization; Dr. Kyo-sook Choi, Chair of the Intellectual Property Rights Experts Group of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation; and, Mr. António Campinos, President of the European Patent Office.

Further, Atty. Barba had a preliminary meeting with Mr. David Wong, Director of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) of the Hong Kong SAR Government on 2 December. During the meeting, the two parties discussed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippines and Hong Kong.

A group photo taken during the preliminary meeting on 2 December, 2022. The officials were: Atty. Roberto B. Mabalot, Jr., Vice Consul Commercial and Commercial Attache of the PTIC-HK (Leftmost); Atty. Rowel S. Barba, DG of the IPOPHL (second from left); Mr. David Wong, Director of the IPD (second from right); and, Mr. Thomas Tsang, Deputy-Director of the IPD (Rightmost).

For more information about the BIP Asia 2022, please visit their official website at: https://bipasia.hktdc.com/conference/bip/en or contact the PTIC-HK at hongkong@dti.gov.ph. You may also follow the official Facebook page of the PTIC-HK at DTI Hong Kong to obtain more information. ♦

Date of Release: 5 December 2022

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