Vigattin Radio on IP and Various Pinoy Innovations

by Angel Bonifacio on April 29, 2013

GUESTS: Dir. Gen. Ricardo Blancaflor of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL); Ms. Diane Eustaquio, executive director of Ideaspace Foundation; Gian Javelona, main developer of PUP Mobile Portal and CEO of Orange Apps; Dir. Marlon Lim of PUP ICT Office; Ms. Marissa Mercado of the Smart Public Affairs Group; Mr. Karl Ivan Estadola, Ms. Jeah Alicante, and Ms. Jillian Arevalo of WeGen, a startup that aims to provide clean and cheap electricity to consumer using its innovative wind turbine; and Mr. Rod Michael Coronel, CEO of iRace.ph, a platform for organizers to promote and manage their racing events, and for runners to register to races and socialize with other runners.

I've already said in my previous articles that technopreneurship and open innovation are definitely on the rise not only here in the Philippines but also in the whole world. Major players like Kickstart Ventures and Ideaspace Foundation have given full attention and support in developing some great ideas of our Filipino techopreneurs. As Ms. Diane Eustaquio of Ideaspace has mentioned, they are currently incubating startups and guiding them through the progress of their businesses. A holistic approach to business success is done, which means that these startups are given not only financial aid, but also mentorship, bootcamps, and various seminars on how to market their business, patent their works, and manage their finances, among others.

That said, Vigattin Radio had invited Dir. Gen. Ricardo Blancaflor of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to enlighten our many Pinoy innovators about patent, copyright, and trademark in our country. Vigattin Radio made it possible for IPOPHL and the startups of Ideaspace to meet and talk about how they and other people can secure their business models, innovations, and other intellectual properties. IPOPHL is extending its reach and right now, there are Innovation Technology Support Offices in different universities in Metro Manila to help students to file official ownership of their intellectual properties. Dir. Gen. Blancaflor also discussed the process of filing a patent, copyright, or trademark in the country, which can be perused on their website, www.ipophil.gov.ph.

Various startups like iRace.ph, WeGen, and Orange Apps really need to protect their intellectual properties to avoid disputes in the future. Information and resources are readily available on the IPOPHL website and hopefully, more Intellectual Property offices will be established all over the Philippines for easier access. We are one of the leading innovators in Southeast Asia and protection of intellectual property is really one of the most important aspects of innovation.