April 21, 2015
In a public gathering attended by various IP stakeholders, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Arbitration and Mediation Center, announced on April 16, 2015 a recently forged cooperation, which gives parties in dispute over IP rights the option to refer their IP disputes to WIPO’s mediation services.
To formalize this cooperation, IPOPHIL and WIPO signed a Memorandum of Understanding back in May 2014. Under the Memorandum, IPOPHIL and WIPO established a joint dispute resolution procedure to facilitate the mediation of IP cases pending before IPOPHIL.
Currently, Office Order No. 154, Series of 2010 requires the following types of disputes lodged before the Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) to undergo mediation: (1) administrative complaint; (2) inter partes cases; (3) disputes involving technology transfer payments; (4) disputes relating to the terms of a license involving the author’s rights to public performance or other communication of his work; (5) cases appealed to the Office of the Director General (ODG) from decisions of the Bureau of Legal Affairs (BLA) and the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau (DITTB); and (6) other cases which may be referred to mediation during the settlement period declared by the Director General. These cases are referred to IPOPHIL’s Alternative Dispute Resolution Services (ADRS). The mediation is presided by a mediator, who is jointly appointed by the parties. The idea for ADRS is to provide a forum, where parties can discuss their issues, and work towards reaching an amicable resolution.