Law Summary
Voluntary Registration and Practice
- Registration under these rules is voluntary, not mandatory for appearing before the IPOPhil.
- Only members of the Philippine Bar in good standing may appear as counsel in inter partes cases or IP violations before IPOPhil or Bureau of Legal Affairs.
Key Definitions
- "Agent": Registered Trademark Agent, Patent Agent, or Patent & Trademark Agent.
- "Bureau": Various IPOPhil bureaus including Legal Affairs, Patents, Trademarks, Documentation, and others.
- "Director General": Head of IPOPhil.
- "Examiner": Intellectual Property Rights Specialist in patents or trademarks bureaus.
- "Fees": As per IPOPhil fee regulations.
- "IP Code": Republic Act No. 8293, the Intellectual Property Code.
- "IPOPhil" or "Office": Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines.
- "Representative": Registered Resident Representative.
Registries Established
- Trademark Agent Registry
- Patent Agent Registry
- Patent and Trademark Agent Registry
- Resident Representative Registry
- Registries include web-based and off-line listings showing names, permanent codes, and other relevant data.
Disqualifications from Registration
- Employees and certain former employees of IPOPhil disqualified.
- Relatives up to fourth degree of consanguinity or affinity of disqualified employees also barred.
- Juridical entities involving such individuals are disqualified.
General Qualification for Registration
- Applicants must be resident or domiciled in the Philippines.
- Must complete at least 40 hours of IPO-organized or sponsored training within the two years prior.
- For juridical entities, at least one senior officer must meet the training requirement.
Specific Qualification Requirements
- Trademark Agent:
- Natural persons: Members of the Philippine Bar in good standing.
- Juridical entities: Must have at least one registered Trademark Agent as senior officer.
- Patent Agent:
- Natural persons:
- Education: Bachelor's or postgraduate degrees in specified science or engineering fields.
- Training: Minimum 12 months technical patent training including formality exam and patent search.
- Experience: At least 6 continuous years handling patent processing, subdivided into formality examination, patent search, and substantive examination.
- Juridical entities: Must have at least one registered Patent Agent as senior officer.
- Natural persons:
- Patent and Trademark Agent:
- Natural persons: Must fulfill qualifications of both Trademark and Patent Agents.
- Juridical entities: Must have senior officers registered respectively as Trademark Agent, Patent Agent, or combined Agent.
Use of Permanent Codes
- Registered Agents and Representatives receive permanent codes.
- These codes must be indicated in all official communications and filings before IPOPhil.
Application and Re-enlistment Procedures
- Applicants submit completed forms, relevant certificates of good standing, training completion certificates, and service records (if applicable) to the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau (DITTB).
- Re-enlistment occurs annually before January 20 with payment of fees and submission of updated documents.
- Failure to re-enlist by deadline results in removal from the registry listings effective January 21.
- Failure to re-enlist for three consecutive years requires re-registration complying with all initial requirements.
- Flexibility allowed in moving between web-based and off-line listings upon payment of corresponding fees.
Role and Responsibilities of Key IPOPhil Bureaus
- DITTB:
- Maintains registries and permanent code assignments.
- Organizes or sponsors seminars, training, workshops.
- Coordinates resource persons from other bureaus.
- Implements regulations and related programs.
- Bureau of Patents (BOP), Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA), Bureau of Trademarks (BOT):
- Provide specialized training opportunities with a minimum of 32 hours annually.
- Collaborate with DITTB for data sharing and implementation.
- Management Information Systems and EDP Bureau (MIS-EDPB):
- Develops automated systems.
- Uploads web-based listings on IPOPhil website.
Transitional Provisions for Previously Registered Resident Representatives
- Previously registered resident agents who complied with fees and requirements for 2004 automatically included in non-web-based listings.
- Can apply for registration in other registries before March 31, 2004, without 40-hour training requirement.
- After the deadline, training certificate requirement applies.
Repeals and Separability Clause
- All inconsistent rules and orders are repealed.
- Invalidity of any provision does not affect the remainder of the rules.
Administrative and Effectivity Provisions
- Certified copies of the rules are filed with key government bodies (UP Law Center, Office of the President, Congress, Supreme Court, National Library).
- IPOPhil website to post the order.
- The regulations take effect on January 16, 2004, after publication in a newspaper of general circulation no later than December 31, 2003.