DTI, IPOPHL recognize need for Filipino brands to register | U.S. ...

By PNA and U.S. News Agency / Las Vegas, Nevada

While business name registration is needed to operate and is obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), trademark registrations are required in order to obtain ownership and protection for brands and logos.

These are obtained from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), both agencies clarified over IPOPHL?s radio show, Piracy Watch.

Atty. Victorio Dimagiba, Director for Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection of the DTI, urged business owners to apply for trademarks.

?Business name registration permits proprietors to operate and engage in commerce, while trademark registration certifies that a business owns the brand or logos they use in products and signages,? he said.

?IPOPHL issues trademark registration to prove ownership over a particular brand,? added Atty. Sara Suguitan, deputy spokesperson for IPOPHL. ?Trademark certificates operate like land titles, but this time, for intellectual property as opposed to real property.?

Under the law, business owners should file an application with the IPOPHL for trademark registration.

?Trademark registration is not mandatory under the law, unlike business name registration,? explained Suguitan. ?However, when copying occurs, your only basis for legal protection is a trademark registration.?

Registration for trademarks is also made urgent by the fact that the law implements a first-to-file system. ?Trademark registration is granted on a first come, first served basis,? she said.

IPOPHL is an agency attached to the Department of Trade and Industry. It issues registration over copyrights, trademarks and patents for protection.

Source: http://www.usnewslasvegas.com/business/dti-ipophl-recognize-need-for-filipino-brands-to-register/

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