IP protection in the Philippines

A 2024 UNCTAD report showed that the top foreign investors in the Philippines were Japan, the US, Singapore and Germany. In early 2026, South Korea was added. This has been attributed to certain reforms that allow foreigners access to some investment areas, the perceived growing purchasing power of the middle class, and the push for digital transformation.

At the top of the list of fields of interest are: renewable energy; manufacturing (eg IT, AI and business process management); retail and e-commerce; construction; and real estate. Given this background, intellectual property becomes a major concern, and the following information can help foreign entities navigate the Philippine business environment.

Q: What are the key IP rights in the Philippines and what should foreign (including Japanese) investors prioritise when entering the market?

A: The Philippines is a signatory to the Paris Convention, the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, and the Patent Co-operation Treaty (PCT), among other treaties regulated by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, as well as bilateral agreements with other countries, hence allowing for the recognition of nearly all of the IP rights created, foremost of which are trademarks, patents, copyrights, and trade secrets or undisclosed information. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) is the government agency regulating IP.

Trademarks. Obtaining trademark registrations is the first line of defence for IP protection, whether for selling goods or providing services. Businesses need brand recognition to be successful. Only visible signs capable of distinguishing the goods or services of an enterprise are registrable as trademarks in the Philippines. While the IPOPHL has sought amendments to the IP Code to include scent and sound marks, the proposed revision has not been taken up by the Philippine Congress. Investors should take note that the Philippines is on a first-to-file system and requires the submission of proof of actual use of the mark within three years from filing, and every five years following the registration date.

Patents. Highly developed and technology-driven countries such as Japan, the US, Germany and South Korea, which are members of the PCT, would be interested in the protection of their patents and/or trade secrets. The patent law in the Philippines covers inventions, utility models, designs and integrated circuits. Meeting deadlines is paramount to keep the patent applications and registrations active. Computer programs and software are not patentable but are protected by copyright. However, if the program or software involves a technical process, or produces a technical effect that shows a new and inventive step beyond what is already known, then it is patentable.

Copyright. The Philippines is a member of the Berne Convention, so registration is not required. But to readily initiate copyright infringement actions, registration is desirable because it does away with the laborious activity of proving ownership of the work (e.g. books, advertisements and works of applied art), being prima facie proof of ownership and validity of the copyrighted work. Use of generative AI appears to be pervasive, but the IPOPHL has emphasised that only a natural person can create a copyrightable work. For works that are partially AI-generated, only those portions created by the natural person can be protected.

Trade secrets. Some businesses have trade secrets (e.g. formulations, confidential information) that may be patentable, but which the owner has decided to keep secret because reverse engineering or discovery may take too long or be costly. For protection, having a non-disclosure agreement is necessary, the content of which may differ depending on the nature of the relationship (e.g. with employees, vendors or other service providers), notwithstanding that the Philippines has no formal trade secret law for investors but relies on jurisprudence.

Q: What are the most common IP risks faced by foreign investors in the Philippines?

A: Finding a suitable partner. A foreigner entering the Philippine market should conduct due diligence in choosing a distributor or business partner. There have been occasions where distributors or licensees have filed the licensed trademark in their own names, and the trademark owners find themselves needing to buy back or to file an action to recover the trademark, which could be costly.

Counterfeiting. The Philippines has stayed off the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) Special 301 Watch list for IP violators for 13 consecutive years, but counterfeiting remains a problem. The USTR credited the Philippines’ aggressive inter-agency collaboration, and for online transactions, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has issued the implementing rules of the Internet Act of 2023, which took effect on June 2025, making e-commerce platforms jointly liable with offending sellers. With more people using e-commerce platforms, scams related to them are also becoming more numerous and varied, and legitimate business models have also been used by scammers to perpetuate their “business”. Examples are fake online shops, product misrepresentation, and identity theft.

Q: What practical steps should investors take to secure and enforce their IP rights effectively in the Philippines?

A: Make an inventory of IP. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are usually encouraged by their governments to expand their markets outside their own countries. In so doing, it would be beneficial if the SMEs look at their business and list the IP they own, then decide what needs to be protected in their targeted markets.

Secure trademark registrations early. The Philippines is on a first-to-file
system and requires the filing of a declaration of use within three years from filing, so the foreign investor has enough time to validate its study of the Philippine market and increase its chance of success in the marketplace.

Maintaining good communication with local agents/counsel. Investors should be familiar with and optimise the use of remedies within the Philippines to secure and enforce their IP rights. This entails establishing and maintaining good communication channels with local agents and counsel by timely informing one another of important deadlines
and replying to inquiries promptly. This simple step ensures that all parties are on the same page and the proper remedies are identified for possible action, whether it is recordation with the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to prevent entry of counterfeits, a criminal and/or civil action before the specialised regional commercial courts, or an administrative action before the IPOPHL.

Q: What recent developments or trends are shaping IP protection in the Philippines?

A: Platform adjudication. The rapidly growing complexities of commerce in the digital world, the proliferation of AI usage and the prevalence of digital piracy have shaped IP protection in the Philippines. IP conflicts are being resolved internally by e-commerce platforms such as Lazada, Shopee and Tiktok, to name a few. They have their own mechanisms for taking down and penalising shops that sell counterfeit goods, usually involving a tiered penalty scheme that may lead to removal of the offending website for repeat infringers.

Such mechanisms are, of course, welcome since the goal is to protect the interests of both the consumers and the IPR owner, and said resolution by the platforms may be faster than filing a complaint in court. But what happens if the platform’s decision is not correct, or cause damage to one of the parties, or have conflicts of interest with the complainant, and nothing in its internal take-down rules say something about the platform being accountable?

Digital platforms solidarily liable with seller-violators. The DTI started full enforcement of the rules on the Internet Transactions Act of 2023 in June 2025. Through its E-Commerce Bureau, it can issue take-down orders against online listings of illegal goods and services, and can hold digital platforms solidarily liable with sellers for violations, or failure to act on illicit activities on their sites.

Customs recordation. While the customs rules are not new, only in the past year has there been increased interest by registered IP rights owners to have their marks recorded with the BOC, which issues continuing alerts and watches for counterfeit goods entering the Philippine market. The process is simple and not expensive.

AI Examination Guidelines. In July 2025, the IPOPHL released its AI Examination Guidelines covering inventions, utility models and industrial designs. What is clear is that AI cannot be the applicant, inventor or designer, and cannot be named as co-inventor or be a joint inventor, because it has no juridical personality. AI-assisted inventions or AI-generated designs are not prohibited but its sources must be disclosed.

The Philippines has enough laws to ensure the protection of IP rights, and the government is proactively instituting reforms to cope with technology changes.

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