‘IP rights vital for inventors’
The Department of Science and Technology 6 is urging Ilonggo inventors to register their work.
DOST 6 Regional Director Rowen Gelonga said many Ilonggo inventors waiting to be discovered.
They just need to be coaxed out of their “dungeon” and get registered, he said.
Gelonga said this is necessary so that the government can take census of the actual number of inventors, scientists and discoveries and new innovations in various fields.
He said that DOST and the Intellectual Property Office will help these inventors with technical assistance, funding for their inventions, and registration and processing of their patents.
“We have to support them for their contribution to technology,” he said.
IPO Director General Ricardo Blancaflor said that inventions, researches and other original works should be patented and copyrighted.
This will protect the work from infringement, and from being stolen by others, he said.
Blancaflor also said that inventions should be made known and be made commercially viable to the market as inventions and discoveries that penetrate the world market will help local economy and the inventor himself.
“This is were intellectual property rights is necessary. Without the patent and copyright, inventors could end up very poor even though their discoveries are doing well in the market,” he said.
Blancaflor attended last week the 2010 Visayas Islands Invention Contest and Exhibits in Iloilo City themed “Filipino Inventions and Innovations: The Way Forward.”
IPO Field Office
Meanwhile, Blancaflor said the IPO will open a field office in Iloilo City.
Inventors from the region and nearby provinces can file for the patent and copyrights faster and easier through the field office, he said.
The IPO field office in Iloilo City will be the first in the Visayas.
Blancaflor also encouraged universities and educational institutions to have the original works of their students, researchers and colleagues patented.
This way it could be used for commercial purposes and mass production, he said.
The patent and copyrights for discoveries and inventions are important if they want to improve their work, he added.
The IPO field office will be inaugurated before the year ends beside the Department of Trade and Industry 6 in Iloilo City.*PNA
