Wazzup Pilipinas!
In this fast-paced age of evolving digital landscape, one now communicates and accesses information with just a click. However, with technology comes threat as both emerging and professional creators remain susceptible to the negative impact of this development as they share their outputs with the wider audience.
De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), as a forefront of innovative and inclusive education, remains true to its mission to develop the interests and passions of the students through the efforts of its Intellectual Property Management Center (IPMC), which is specially established to cultivate intellectual property-mindfulness in the institution and protect its growing numbers of homegrown artists, design frontrunners and future industry leaders.
“Intellectual property awareness and best practices have become more important in this internet age,” DLS-CSB IPMC Director Attorney Ma. Janice Tejano stated. “Intellectual property (IP) rights are granted by law to the author or inventor of a work, which allows them to enjoy exclusive rights to their creation for a limited period of time. It serves as incentive for the time, effort, and resources they put into the work.”
She noted that IP rights are intangible assets; the owner can transfer their rights to another person, lease it, or give it up for public use.
Tejano explained that while “most state-owned and private universities in the country have an IP office, especially institutions which have Research & Development (R&D) centers and receive government grants that support scientific and medical researches of students and faculty, DLS-CSB is the pioneer private tertiary institution offering courses in design, arts, business management, hospitality management and information technology that is building a strong intellectual property culture from the ground up.”
“We empower the Benildeans to adopt the principles, concepts, tools, and best practices they need in their creative and innovative pursuits while maximizing it to their advantage,” Tejano elaborated. “Enriching their IP know-how hones them to become strategic and responsible creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs. This is a key advantage which Benilde gives through the support services of the IPMC.”
In cooperation with the College’s various academic programs and offices, the IPMC annually holds a series of campaigns, seminars and workshops to orient the community and ensure that the importance of the IP rights are “not only taught conceptually but are integrated in the culture, methodology and operations, and output of the institution.”
The institution is likewise equipped with its own IP Rights Policy that addresses and supports all types of student works and intellectual property covered under the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. IPMC has also established its own website ip.benilde.edu.ph wherein the students, educators, and associates can easily access the guidelines, view featured Benildean innovators and their creations, and, at the same time, use the platform to submit IP-related inquiries and complaints. They can likewise send an email or visit the office for their concerns.
“With respect to students’ works which they submit in compliance to their academic requirements, the Benilde IP Policy provides that the students own the work and the intellectual property to the work unless it falls under the exceptions of the guidelines or under a special contract with a third party,” Tejano clarified. “For artistic works, these are usually protected by Copyright, which is automatically granted upon execution or expression of the work without need of formal registration. Industrial Design, Patents, and Trademarks require a formal registration in order for legal protection to take effect.”
While the IPMC supports the Benildeans, they, too, solidify that the students also respect the rights of others. “Before using or sharing the original work of others, ask permission from the owner. If a work has no name or the owner cannot be identified, assume that it is Copyright protected and is not free for use by the public,” she advised.
She also elaborated the importance of using IP data such as patent, trademark, and design databases to check the innovation trends before working on an invention to avoid infringement of the IP rights of others.
Recently, the DLS-CSB IPMC was accredited as an Innovation and Technology Support Office (ITSO) of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and joins other universities and research development institutions in a network that gears towards the creation of intellectual property to establish the innovative contribution of Filipinos in the international patent system.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
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