PROTECTING TRADEMARKS, BRANDS. Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio delivers his speech about the efforts and achievements of the Philippines in protecting intellectual property rights and combatting counterfeit products during the Asia Security Conference and Exhibition on Wednesday (July 26, 2023) in Singapore. He assured the Philippines is consistent on its commitment to protect trademarks and brands in the country. (Photo courtesy of Bureau of Customs)
MANILA – The Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Wednesday highlighted its efforts to uphold the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and combat counterfeit attempts in the country during the Asia Security Conference and Exhibition in Singapore.
BOC Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio attended the conference as a distinguished speaker, citing strategies implemented in the Philippines to safeguard trademarks and brands.
In a statement, the BOC said these achievements were made possible through intensified intelligence and international partnerships.
"Celebrating recent achievements in the field of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection, Commissioner Rubio proudly shared that the Philippines has maintained a clean record for ten years in the United States Trade Representative's (USTR) Special 301 Report," the BOC said.
It underscored the importance for the Custom Intelligence Group to strengthen partnerships with law enforcement, traders and other stakeholders.
"Rubio (also) emphasized that collaboration and cooperation among nations and stakeholders are vital in the fight against counterfeiting and the protection of intellectual property rights," the BOC added.
These efforts resulted in the interception of PHP21.3 billion worth of counterfeit products for the first half of the year.
This accounts for the overall value of seizure in 219 operations from Jan. 1 to July 14.
Besides the high-value seizures, the country was also delisted from the European Union's watchlist in the report on the "Protection and Enforcement of IPR in Third Countries."
Despite these, the BOC urged the public and international stakeholders to maintain vigilance against existing challenges in "expeditious facilitation of trade through brand certification/verification" and risks of counterfeiting through the emergence of electronic commerce.
Rubio called on e-commerce platforms to implement stringent policies and monitoring to prevent retailers from selling counterfeit or illicit products. (PNA)
