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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE

I. Introduction

A. CONSTITUTION

SEC. 6.

The use of property bears a social function, and all economic agents shall contribute to the common good.
Individuals and private groups, including corporations, cooperatives, and similar collective organizations,
shall have the right to own, establish, and operate economic enterprises, subject to the duty of the State to
promote distributive justice and to intervene when the common good so demands. (Art XII, Sec 6,
NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PATRIMONY)

SEC. 14.

The sustained development of a reservoir of national talents consisting of Filipino scientists, entrepreneurs,
professionals, managers, q-level technical manpower and skilled workers and craftsmen in all fields shall
be promoted by the State. The State shall encourage appropriate technology and regulate its transfer for
the national benefit.

The practice of all professions in the Philippines shall be limited to Filipino citizens, save in cases prescribed
by law. (Art XII, Sec 14, NATIONAL ECONOMY AND PATRIMONY)

ARTICLE XIV

EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ARTS, CULTURE AND SPORTS

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Section 10. Science and technology are essential for national development and progress. The State shall
give priority to research and development, invention, innovation, and their utilization; and to science and
technology education, training, and services. It shall support indigenous, appropriate, and self-reliant
scientific and technological capabilities, and their application to the country’s productive systems and
national life.

Section 11. The Congress may provide for incentives, including tax deductions, to encourage private
participation in programs of basic and applied scientific research. Scholarships, grants-in-aid, or other
forms of incentives shall be provided to deserving science students, researchers, scientists, inventors,
technologists, and specially gifted citizens.

Section 12. The State shall regulate the transfer and promote the adaptation of technology from all
sources for the national benefit. It shall encourage the widest participation of private groups, local
governments, and community-based organizations in the generation and utilization of science and
technology.

Section 13. The State shall protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and other
gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for
such period as may be provided by law.

ARTS AND CULTURE


Section 14. The State shall foster the preservation, enrichment, and dynamic evolution of a Filipino national
culture based on the principle of unity in diversity in a climate of free artistic and intellectual expression.

Section 15. Arts and letters shall enjoy the patronage of the State. The State shall conserve, promote, and
popularize the nation’s historical and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic creations.

Section 16. All the country’s artistic and historic wealth constitutes the cultural treasure of the nation and
shall be under the protection of the State which may regulate its disposition.

Section 17. The State shall recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to
preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the
formulation of national plans and policies.

Section 18. (1) The State shall ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the educational system,
public or private cultural entities, scholarships, grants and other incentives, and community cultural centers,
and other public venues.

(2) The State shall encourage and support researches and studies on the arts and culture.

B. Civil Code

DIFFERENT MODES OF ACQUIRING OWNERSHIP

Art. 712. Ownership is acquired by occupation and by intellectual creation.

Ownership and other real rights over property are acquired and transmitted by law, by donation, by
estate and intestate succession, and in consequence of certain contracts, by tradition.

They may also be acquired by means of prescription. (609a)

Title II. - INTELLECTUAL CREATION

Art. 721. By intellectual creation, the following persons acquire ownership:

(1) The author with regard to his literary, dramatic, historical, legal, philosophical, scientific or other work;

(2) The composer; as to his musical composition;

(3) The painter, sculptor, or other artist, with respect to the product of his art;

(4) The scientist or technologist or any other person with regard to his discovery or invention. (n)

Art. 722. The author and the composer, mentioned in Nos. 1 and 2 of the preceding article, shall have the
ownership of their creations even before the publication of the same. Once their works are published, their
rights are governed by the Copyright laws.

The painter, sculptor or other artist shall have dominion over the product of his art even before it is
copyrighted.

The scientist or technologist has the ownership of his discovery or invention even before it is patented. (n)
Art. 723. Letters and other private communications in writing are owned by the person to whom they are
addressed and delivered, but they cannot be published or disseminated without the consent of the writer
or his heirs. However, the court may authorize their publication or dissemination if the public good or the
interest of justice so requires. (n)

Art. 724. Special laws govern copyright and patent. (429a)

CHAPTER 3

TRADE-MARKS AND TRADE-NAMES

Art. 520. A trade-mark or trade-name duly registered in the proper government bureau or office is
owned by and pertains to the person, corporation, or firm registering the same, subject to the provisions of
special laws. (n)

Art. 521. The goodwill of a business is property, and may be transferred together with the right to use the
name under which the business is conducted. (n)

Art. 522. Trade-marks and trade-names are governed by special laws. (n)

C. Definition of Intellectual Property

Sec. 4 RA 8393 - THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CODE of the Philippines

Section 4. Definitions. - 4.1. The term "intellectual property rights" consists of:

a) Copyright and Related Rights;

b) Trademarks and Service Marks;

c) Geographic Indications;

d) Industrial Designs;

e) Patents;

f) Layout-Designs (Topographies) of Integrated Circuits; and

g) Protection of Undisclosed Information (n, TRIPS).

4.2. The term "technology transfer arrangements" refers to contracts or agreements involving the transfer
of systematic knowledge for the manufacture of a product, the application of a process, or rendering of a
service including management contracts; and the transfer, assignment or licensing of all forms of intellectual
property rights, including licensing of computer software except computer software developed for mass
market.

4.3. The term "Office" refers to the Intellectual Property Office created by this Act.

4.4. The term "IPO Gazette" refers to the gazette published by the Office under this Act. (n)

Difference between:
Trademark: A trademark is any sign which can distinguish the goods and services of one trader from those
of another. A sign includes, for example, words, logos, pictures, or a combination of these. As with other IP
rights, trademark laws may differ from country to country, and a trademark will not be considered valid in
a country that you don’t trade in or have not registered the trademark.

Copyright: This is the right to copy an IP or rather the right to control the copying of an IP. When a person
produces a creative work such as a book, painting, music, film or computer software, that item is
automatically protected by copyright law. They are the only person allowed to copy that work or to grant
permission to others to copy it. Copyright law varies from country to country (so check with a lawyer) but in
general an IP is automatically protected by copyright as soon as it is created.

Patents: A patent gives an inventor the right for a limited period to stop others from making, using or
selling an invention without their permission. Patents are intended to cover processes or products that
include or contain new functional or technical aspects. Unless you register your patent in another country a
person or company may be able to make use of your invention in that country.

Case: Kho vs. CA


II. The Law on Trademarks, Tradenames and Service Names

A. Definition

Section 121. Definitions. - As used in Part III, the following terms have the following meanings:

121.1. "Mark" means any visible sign capable of distinguishing the goods (trademark) or services (service
mark) of an enterprise and shall include a stamped or marked container of goods; (Sec. 38, R.A. No.
166a)

121.2. "Collective mark" means any visible sign designated as such in the application for registration and
capable of distinguishing the origin or any other common characteristic, including the quality of goods or
services of different enterprises which use the sign under the control of the registered owner of the
collective mark; (Sec. 40, R.A. No. 166a)

121.3. "Trade name" means the name or designation identifying or distinguishing an enterprise; (Sec. 38,
R.A. No. 166a)

121.4. "Bureau" means the Bureau of Trademarks;

121.5. "Director" means the Director of Trademarks;

121.6. "Regulations" means the Rules of Practice in Trademarks and Service Marks formulated by the
Director of Trademarks and approved by the Director General; and

121.7. "Examiner" means the trademark examiner. (Sec. 38, R.A. No. 166a)

Case: Distilleria Washington vs. CA

B. Sources of Rights

1. IPC
2. Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property
a. National Treatment Principle
b. Right of Priority (Sec. 131, IPC)

National treatment: Treating foreigners and locals equally Imported and locally-produced goods should
be treated equally — at least after the foreign goods have entered the market. The same should apply to
foreign and domestic services, and to foreign and local trademarks, copyrights and patents. This principle
of “national treatment” (giving others the same treatment as one’s own nationals) is also found in all the
three main WTO agreements (Article 3 of GATT, Article 17 of GATS and Article 3 of TRIPS), although once
again the principle is handled slightly differently in each of these.

National treatment only applies once a product, service or item of intellectual property has entered the
market. Therefore, charging customs duty on an import is not a violation of national treatment even if
locally-produced products are not charged an equivalent tax.

Section 131. Priority Right. - 131.1. An application for registration of a mark filed in the Philippines by a
person referred to in Section 3, and who previously duly filed an application for registration of the same
mark in one of those countries, shall be considered as filed as of the day the application was first filed in
the foreign country.
131.2. No registration of a mark in the Philippines by a person described in this section shall be granted
until such mark has been registered in the country of origin of the applicant.

131.3. Nothing in this section shall entitle the owner of a registration granted under this section to sue for
acts committed prior to the date on which his mark was registered in this country: Provided, That,
notwithstanding the foregoing, the owner of a well-known mark as defined in Section 123.1(e) of this Act,
that is not registered in the Philippines, may, against an identical or confusingly similar mark, oppose its
registration, or petition the cancellation of its registration or sue for unfair competition, without prejudice to
availing himself of other remedies provided for under the law.

131.4. In like manner and subject to the same conditions and requirements, the right provided in this section
may be based upon a subsequent regularly filed application in the same foreign country: Provided, That
any foreign application filed prior to such subsequent application has been withdrawn, abandoned, or
otherwise disposed of, without having been laid open to public inspection and without leaving any rights
outstanding, and has not served, nor thereafter shall serve, as a basis for claiming a right of priority. (Sec.
37, R.A. No. 166a)

C. Functions of Trademark

Functions of a Trademark

A trademark serves the purpose of identifying the source or the origin of goods. Trademark performs the
following four functions.

 It identifies the product and it’s origin.

 It proposes to guarantee its quality.

 It advertises the product. The trademark represents the product.

 It creates an image of the product in the minds of the public particularly the consumers or the
prospective consumers of such goods.

Ang Tibay: Counsel for the petitioner says that the function of a trade-mark is to point distinctively, either
by its own meaning or by association, to the origin or ownership of the wares to which it is applied. That is
correct, and we find that "Ang Tibay," as used by the respondent to designate his wares, had exactly
performed that function for twenty-two years before the petitioner adopted it as a trade-mark in her own
business. Ang Tibay shoes and slippers are, by association, known throughout the Philippines as products of
the Ang Tibay factory owned and operated by the respondent Toribio Teodoro

D. How are marks acquired?

Section 122. How Marks are Acquired. - The rights in a mark shall be acquired through registration made
validly in accordance with the provisions of this law. (Sec. 2-A, R A. No. 166a)

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