The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is waiving certain application fees for technology-related intellectual property (IP) that mitigates environmental impact and conserves natural resources.
On Tuesday, IPOPHL’s Bureau of Patents (BOP) held a ceremonial launch of the green program which now accepts applications for patents, utility models (UMs) or industrial designs (IDs).
Under the program, applicants can save up to P6,600 in fees and have their applications prioritized, possibly significantly reducing the time it would take to obtain a grant or registration. The technology applied for protection must fall under the following classification: alternative energy production, solar energy, sustainable transportation, energy conservation, waste management, sustainable agriculture/forestry, administrative, regulatory or design aspects and nuclear power generation.
The incentive will be granted to up to 30 patents, 60 UMs and 60 IDs.
IPOPHL, through examiners of the BOO, will evaluate and check for eligibility the submitted documents in the Formality Examination Report.
The BOP, however, said GreenTech Program does not automatically confer a certificate of grant or registration. The qualified applications will still undergo the regular registration or grant process but may succeed in benefiting from IPOPHL’s expedited application process if applications do not receive adverse information that will require further examination and inquiry on the part of BOP’s examiners.
The program will run until Nov. 1, 2025, or until slots for applications have been filled in.
