Importance of Intellectual Property

Earlier, after the first day of “WIPO Asia Pacific Conference on Intellectual Property Strategies and National Development,” I sat down with David Blackmore at the Boracay Room of EDSA Shangrila Hotel. The theme of this conference is “Innovation in Motion.” David was in the Philippines last 2007, when he run a training program for IP law enforcement. Based in New Zealand, David is the Executive Director of IPR. Photos by Ruth Roman.

Together with Melvin Calimag of the Manila Bulletin, we talked about some of the issues and concerns related to IP or intellectual property.

“All economies are suffering from counterfeiting and piracy, but the face of the problem is changing. Every conceivable sector is affected and it’s consequences include, among others, consumer safety and business revenue,” says David

We were surprised when David shared that in India alone, there were 40 fake versions of Vicks Vaporub. He describes that fakes not only compete with the originals but among the fake products too. Even YKK zippers is also copied. “It is one of the most faked items,” adds David.

My friend, Melvin asked which product sector ranked high among piracy and counterfeiting. David replied that “music piracy was more prevalent but luxury goods and clothing was most visible.” No arguments here. Just go around tiangges and one can see thousands of fake brands like Louis Vitton, Lacoste and Polo.

It is common knowledge that a lot of fake products come out of China. I asked David about this challenged being faced in the world’s largest economy. Maybe, if there was tighter control within China’s borders, less fake products will reach the tiangges and flea markets around Metro Manila. David says, “Chinese customs makes a lot of seizures.” He explains that the size and scale is too big too handle. That I can imagine. And there must some tech-driven way that can help address this problem. It would be tough to physically check each container van coming out of Chinese ports. “Customs control is important,” adds David. “80% of all seizures are made by custom officials.”

David calls for the need for more involvement among all stakeholders. “We need to expand alliances beyond government and law enforcement agencies.” He also sees the public awareness should start in schools, which could contribute to an increase of respect for intellectual property. Agree that we can find a champion among our midst who will instill in the minds of the youth the importance of respecting intellectual property, specially, related to music and photos.

I asked if there could be a champion for IP issues. I shared that Al Gore was successful in putting climate change high in the priority list among government through the film, An Inconvenient Truth. David opined that the famous football player, Ronaldo, can champion the fight against fake football jerseys.

This event contributes to increased awareness for intellectual property as it exemplifies cooperation between government and the private sector as intellectual property becomes a strategic tool for national development.