In today’s blog post we are discussing how to protect your IP in the Philippines while conducting R&D activities. You’ll learn more about Non-Disclosure contracts and patents and how to protect your new IP that is being created in the Philippines.
Many European SMEs may not consider that they conduct any research and development (R&D) in the Philippines because they do not have a laboratory or research facility there, but in reality, a high proportion of these companies engage in activities which fall under at least one of the terms: research or development.
Some examples of R&D might include an SME that enters into a contract with a local company to use their engineers to develop a prototype into a commercial product or application; or an SME that works with local researchers in a Philippine university to design a digital database that is to be accessible via the Internet to users in Europe.
Even though the Philippines has its problems with R&D, as according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017, published by the World Economic Forum, it ranked 83rd out of 138 countries in terms of technological readiness[1], the Philippines’ government is committed to making the country an ‘active player’ in the global knowledge economy[2]. This means that European SMEs can have promising business opportunities in the Philippines’ R&D sector as their know-how will be highly sought after.
IP is a critical consideration for European SMEs that come to the Philippines wishing to tap into this increasingly high-tech production network, or the talent pool for technology development. When engaging in R&D in the Philippines, new intellectual property is being created, the rights to which need to be clearly defined from the outset to avoid disagreements later. Continue reading “Protecting R&D Innovations in the Philippines” »
Good news for SMEs wishing to acquire patents in Thailand, as the country is committed to clearing its backlog of patent applications. Today’s blog post has been kindly shared with us by our external IPR experts, Ms. Darani Vachanavuttivong and Ms. Jitluedee Siemanond from Tilleke & Gibbins. In this article, Ms. Vachanavuttivong and Ms. Siemanond further explain the steps undertaken by the Thai Department of Intellectual Property to ensure faster patent application procedures. 
In today’s blog post we are discussing IP protection in Malaysia’s ICT industry, which has recently been offering many promising business opportunities for the European SMEs. You’ll learn more about patent and design protection and how to ensure that your brand is safe from counterfeiting. 
Today’s blog post on the application of the doctrine of equivalents in the Philippines has been kindly drafted for us by our external expert Ms. Editha Hechanova from Hechanova & Co., Inc. In her article, Ms. Hechanova discusses a patent infringement case in the Philippines to demonstrate the applicability of the doctrine of equivalents in the Philippines IP system, which is essentially meant to help fighting patent fraud. The article first appeared in the Managing Intellectual Property. 
Good news for the European SMEs wishing to do business in Cambodia, it’s now possible to validate European patents in Cambodia. Today’s blog post on validation of European patent in Cambodia has been kindly drafted for us by our external IPR expert Dr. Phin Sovath from Bun & Associates. In this blog post, Dr. Phin further explains the Agreement on Validation of European Patent between the Royal Government of Cambodia and the European Patent Office.