WHAT IS IPO & WHY IT’S ESSENTIAL TO YOU

Many products are being offered today, as a seller, if you don’t have any Intellectual Property rights aimed at your business and products, most likely your items can be imitated without any consent from the original manufacturer. Much worse, the consumer buys these items, not from your business, instead they might patronize the imitated products which may affect your brand image and profitability.

This is a critical issue that Filipino SMEs and even big companies are facing and should be addressed not just to protect your products in the short term, but also for the long-term business reputation, the value of the company, and the investment spent in developing your products. and brands.

How do entrepreneurs, business owners, independent sellers, and even marketers resolve these challenges and protect our companies and products?

It all begins when we have Intellectual Property rights as our shield against entities who wants to steal, copy and produce items illegally and benefit from their own while detrimental to your company, and employees and affecting your business operations.

So what is Intellectual Property? Here in the Philippines, the IPO or Intellectual Property Office, the government arm that manages Intellectual Property affairs, defines this as Intellectual Property refers to creations of the mind. It can be a brand name and logo (trademark), an invention (patent/utility model), a design (industrial design), or a literary and artistic work (copyright).

Now that we know what it is, why does it matter to us? Is this for Filipino inventors only? Or product makers? Nope, Intellectual Property rights are not just for them. It’s your safeguard for every unique idea, product, service, or output of your creative juices. Businesses around the world are ensuring their business value and profitability by filing Intellectual Property rights.

What are considered Intellectual Property rights? These are the basics and easy to learn so you can have strong protection against unscrupulous competitors and add more value to you.

A trademark is a word, a group of words, signs, symbols, logos, or a combination thereof that identifies and differentiates the source of the goods or services of one entity from those of others.

To make sure your goods and services are distinguished from competitors, you should file for a Trademark.

The trademark is also a source of revenue for the owner in the form of royalties obtained through franchising or licensing of the registered TM for use by others.

A plain white shirt can cost around Php 150.00, yet if Nike produces this white shirt with a Nike logo, the retail price of their shirt is higher. Why? Because the trademark on the logo and its name have brand value compared to the generic white shirt. Does it give others to produce a white shirt using the Nike logo? No, only Nike and its licensed manufacturers are allowed to produce their shirts and are protected by Intellectual Property rights under its trademark. Securing its product, brand, and company reputation.

Other IPO rights include Patent which is an exclusive right granted for a new, inventive, & useful product. While Utility Models, just like inventions, are an exclusive right granted to an invention. Another IPO right is Industrial Design consists of three-dimensional features, such as the shape or surface of an article, or two-dimensional features, such as patterns, lines, or color. Finally, Copyright protects literary and artistic works, such as books and other writings, musical works, films, paintings and other works, and computer programs.