PRM @ The 3rd Advance Intellectual Property Licensing Course: Sharpening One’s Tools to Maintain the Beat in the Fight for IP Rights

BONIFACIO GLOBAL CITY, PHILIPPINES – This past November 28, 29 and December 2 and 3, PRM Licensing Officer, Aaron Calderon, and Assistant Licensing Manager, Candice Lima-Del Rosario, participated in the 3rd Advanced Intellectual Property Licensing Course. The 4-day course is a collaboration between the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and the Licensing Executive Society of the Philippines (LES Philippines) that aims to equip its participants the knowledge on how to manage Intellectual Property rights in their respective fields.

The course’s first day tackled the fundamentals of Intellectual Property (IP) licensing and commercialization, with presentations from Adrian Sablan, Chief of Intellectual Property Management and Technology Transfer division of the IPOPHL, Atty. John Paul Gabba, Ms. Maria Leidy Gatuz from the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau (DITTB), Mary Jade  Roxas-Divinagracia of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Philippines, and Atty. Kristian Nico C. Acosta, General Counsel for Guess. Their lectures gave participants the preparatory knowledge one needs before entering into a licensing agreement. This includes being aware of the relevant laws and jurisprudence that support IP, and the channels and agencies that can help IP rights holders further protect their innovations, creations, etc, such as IPOPHL and specifically the DITTB. Additionally, the speakers also shared how to put value on a creation so that it can be commercialized. They also taught the participants on what they can and cannot stipulate in a licensing agreement when entering into a contract. To reinforce the importance of IP protection, a panel discussion showcasing IP licensing success was held, with Potato Corner and Guess serving as examples from a commercial standpoint and student inventions as examples from a university context.

The second day focused solely on licensing agreements, with the first speaker of the day, Atty. Felicisimo F. Agas III of Quisumbing Torres, sharing the important provisions that must be included in IP Licensing Agreements to ensure that right holders are properly protected. Atty. Agas III also held a discussion on royalties, which was divided into two parts. Karl Simon Revelar, a senior patent agent of Sycip Salazar, then followed Agas III with a discussion on patents while Atty. Ivan Mendez discussed copyright. To end the day’s proceedings on licensing agreements, Atty. Reggie Anne Pamatian of IPOPHL discussed how to enforce the stipulations in an IP Licensing contract while Atty Michael Macapagal of Quisumbing Torres discussed how to apply the Alternative Dispute Resolution in the event of an intellectual property dispute.

The course’s third day was its most interactive, as participants were divided into breakout sessions wherein they were given IP case studies and had to divide themselves into two parties to simulate a contract negotiation. Everyone had the chance to be the head negotiator and after every case there was a post-processing that evaluated how they conducted their business during the simulation.

On the course’s fourth and final day, Atty. Chrstopher Cruz, Ph.D., Director Ann N. Edillon, M.D. J.D., Atty. Maria Karla Rosita Bernardo, Dr. Lourdes Marie S. Tejero, PhD, MTM, MA, CGNC, Atty. Anthony Chadd Concepcion, and Commissioner of the Philippine Competition  Commission, Lolibeth Ramit Medrano, spoke about emerging issues in IP licensing to make participants aware of possible hurdles and opportunities that can be explored in their respective practices. The first type of issue that was tackled were issues on conflicts of interests, including how they arise, and how they can be managed. The presentation also stressed the importance of IP right holders knowing the safeguards and challenges imposed on them by the public, as there can be extreme instances when an innovation can be used for the benefit of the general public without benefitting the creator. Another issue that was discussed was the double-edged sword that is Trade Secret, which refers to an IP that gives the right holder an indefinite IP protection. However, it does not preclude other people from discovering and/or reverse engineering the Trade Secrets they have come up with. Lastly, the issues of Artificial Intelligence’s rise, Digital Licensing, and the Metaverse were discussed in the lens of an IP practitioner, as they pose much room for innovation, but also bring uncertainty due to the current lack of established IP safeguards.

After four days of lectures and discussions, the participants left with new-found knowledge on Intellectual Property Licensing that would be crucial in helping them better protect the creations of IP right holders and provide an environment that would foster innovation in their respective fields. 

As subject matter experts that deal in the IP rights of music creators, the four-day course is part of PRM’s goal of continuous learning as a collective management organization (CMO) to keep abreast with the latest developments in IP licensing. However, the fight for IP rights doesn’t just take place in specialized courses on IP licensing, it takes place in the day-to-day operations of CMOs like PRM.

For any inquiries, email info@prm.com.ph 

Written by Aaron Calderon

Edited by Raui Supnet