CIVIL CODE

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)

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)

1987 CONSTITUTION

ART XII Section 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 XIV 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.

International Agreements and Reciprocity

Reverse Reciprocity of Foreign laws

SECTION 3. International Conventions and Reciprocity. Any person who is a

national or who is domiciled or has a real and effective industrial establishment in a
country which is a party to any convention, treaty or agreement relating to intellectual
property rights or the repression of unfair competition, to which the Philippines is also
a party, or extends reciprocal rights to nationals of the Philippines by law, shall be
entitled to benefits to the extent necessary to give effect to any provision of such
convention, treaty or reciprocal law, in addition to the rights to which any owner of an
intellectual property right is otherwise entitled by this Act. (n)

SECTION 231. Reverse Reciprocity of Foreign Laws. Any condition, restriction,

limitation, diminution, requirement, penalty or any similar burden imposed by the law of a
foreign country on a Philippine national seeking protection of intellectual property rights in
that country, shall reciprocally be enforceable upon nationals of said country, within
Philippine jurisdiction. (n)

IP Code AS GOVERNING LAW

SECTION 239. Repeals. 239.1. All Acts and parts of Acts inconsistent herewith,
more particularly Republic Act No. 165, as amended; Republic Act No. 166, as
amended; and Articles 188 and 189 of the Revised Penal Code; Presidential Decree
No. 49, including Presidential Decree No. 285, as amended, are hereby repealed.

239.2. Marks registered under Republic Act No. 166 shall remain in force but shall be
deemed to have been granted under this Act and shall be due for renewal within the
period provided for under this Act and, upon renewal, shall be reclassified in
accordance with the International Classification. Trade names and marks registered in
the Supplemental Register under Republic Act No. 166 shall remain in force but shall
no longer be subject to renewal.

239.3. The provisions of this Act shall apply to works in which copyright protection
obtained prior to the effectivity of this Act is subsisting: Provided, That the
application of this Act shall not result in the diminution of such protection. (n)

SECTION 3. International Conventions and Reciprocity. Any person who is a

national or who is domiciled or has a real and effective industrial establishment in a
country which is a party to any convention, treaty or agreement relating to intellectual
property rights or the repression of unfair competition, to which the Philippines is also
a party, or extends reciprocal rights to nationals of the Philippines by law, shall be
entitled to benefits to the extent necessary to give effect to any provision of such
convention, treaty or reciprocal law, in addition to the rights to which any owner of an
intellectual property right is otherwise entitled by this Act. (n)

SECTION 5. Functions of the Intellectual Property Office (IPO). 5.1. To

administer and implement the State policies declared in this Act, there is hereby
created the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) which shall have the following
functions:
a. Examine applications for grant of letters patent for inventions and register
utility models and industrial designs;
b. Examine applications for the registration of marks, geographic indication,
integrated circuits;
c. Register technology transfer arrangements and settle disputes involving
technology transfer payments covered by the provisions of Part II, Chapter IX
on Voluntary Licensing and develop and implement strategies to promote and
facilitate technology transfer;
d. Promote the use of patent information as a tool for technology development;
e. Publish regularly in its own publication the patents, marks, utility models and
industrial designs, issued and approved, and the technology transfer
arrangements registered;
f. Administratively adjudicate contested proceedings affecting intellectual
property rights; and
g. Coordinate with other government agencies and the private sector efforts to
formulate and implement plans and policies to strengthen the protection of
intellectual property rights in the country.

5.2. The Office shall have custody of all records, books, drawings, specifications,
documents, and other papers and things relating to intellectual property rights
applications filed with the Office. (n)

TYPES OF IPRS AND DEFINITIONS

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)
COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS

SECTION 172. Literary and Artistic Works. 172.1. Literary and artistic works,
hereinafter referred to as "works", are original intellectual creations in the literary and
artistic domain protected from the moment of their creation and shall include in
particular:
a. Books, pamphlets, articles and other writings;
b. Periodicals and newspapers;
c. Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations prepared for oral delivery, whether
or not reduced in writing or other material form;
d. Letters;
e. Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; choreographic works or
entertainment in dumb shows;
f. Musical compositions, with or without words;
g. Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, lithography or
other works of art; models or designs for works of art;
h. Original ornamental designs or models for articles of manufacture, whether or
not registrable as an industrial design, and other works of applied art;
i. Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, charts and three-dimensional works
relative to geography, topography, architecture or science;
j. Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character;
k. Photographic works including works produced by a process analogous to
photography; lantern slides;
l. Audiovisual works and cinematographic works and works produced by a
process analogous to cinematography or any process for making audio-visual
recordings;
m. Pictorial illustrations and advertisements;
n. Computer programs; and
o. Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.

172.2. Works are protected by the sole fact of their creation, irrespective of their
mode or form of expression, as well as of their content, quality and purpose. (Sec. 2,
P.D. No. 49a) cda

TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS

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)

GEOGRAPHIC INDICATIONS ( Article 22, TRIPS Agreement)

SECTION 3: GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS

Article 22 Protection of Geographical Indications

1. Geographical indications are, for the purposes of this Agreement, indications which
identify a good as originating in the territory of a Member, or a region or locality in
that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the good is
essentially attributable to its geographical origin.
2. In respect of geographical indications, Members shall provide the legal means for
interested parties to prevent:
(a) the use of any means in the designation or presentation of a good that indicates
or suggests that the good in question originates in a geographical area other
than the true place of origin in a manner which misleads the public as to the
geographical origin of the good;
(b) any use which constitutes an act of unfair competition within the meaning of
Article 10bis of the Paris Convention (1967).

3. A Member shall, ex officio if its legislation so permits or at the request of an

interested party, refuse or invalidate the registration of a trademark which contains or
consists of a geographical indication with respect to goods not originating in the
territory indicated, if use of the indication in the trademark for such goods in that
Member is of such a nature as to mislead the public as to the true place of origin.

4. The protection under paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be applicable against a

geographical indication which, although literally true as to the territory, region or
locality in which the goods originate, falsely represents to the public that the goods
originate in another territory.

INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS

SECTION 112. Definition of Industrial Design. An industrial design is any composition of

lines or colors or any three-dimensional form, whether or not associated with lines or colors:
Provided, That such composition or form gives a special appearance to and can serve as
pattern for an industrial product or handicraft. (Sec. 55, R.A. No. 165a)

PATENTS

SECTION 21. Patentable Inventions. Any technical solution of a problem in any field of
human activity which is new, involves an inventive step and is industrially applicable shall be
patentable. It may be, or may relate to, a product, or process, or an improvement of any of the
foregoing. (Sec. 7, R.A. No. 165a)

LAY OUT DESIGNS ( TOPOGRAPHIES) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS

112.2 "2. Integrated Circuit means a product, in its final form, or an intermediate
form, in which the elements, at least one of which is an active element and some or all
of the interconnections are integrally formed in and/or on a piece of material, and
which is intended to perform an electronic function; and

PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION

SECTION 7: PROTECTION OF UNDISCLOSED INFORMATION

Article 39 1. In the course of ensuring effective protection against unfair competition

as provided in Article 10bis of the Paris Convention (1967), Members shall protect
undisclosed information in accordance with paragraph 2 and data submitted to
governments or governmental agencies in accordance with paragraph 3.
2. Natural and legal persons shall have the possibility of preventing information
lawfully within their control from being disclosed to, acquired by, or used by others
without their consent in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices so long as
such information:
(a) is secret in the sense that it is not, as a body or in the precise configuration and
assembly of its components, generally known among or readily accessible to
persons within the circles that normally deal with the kind of information in
question;
(b) has commercial value because it is secret; and
(c) has been subject to reasonable steps under the circumstances, by the person
lawfully in control of the information, to keep it secret.

3. Members, when requiring, as a condition of approving the marketing of

pharmaceutical or of agricultural chemical products which utilize new chemical
entities, the submission of undisclosed test or other data, the origination of which
involves a considerable effort, shall protect such data against

For the purpose of this provision, "a manner contrary to honest commercial practices"
shall mean at least practices such as breach of contract, breach of confidence and
inducement to breach, and includes the acquisition of undisclosed information by
third parties who knew, or were grossly negligent in failing to know, that such
practices were involved in the acquisition. In addition, Members shall protect such
data against disclosure, except where necessary to protect the public, or unless steps
are taken to ensure that the data are protected against unfair commercial use.

TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER ARRANGEMENTS

SECTION 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.