Government agencies and an industry group are banking on intellectual property to revitalize the Philippine textile and fashion industry toward global competitiveness, according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines .
Through the industry’s lens, Philippine Textile Research Institute Officer-in-Charge Julius Leaño Jr. shared how the agency recently “shifted gears” to a more aggressive patenting strategy during the pandemic to “break new grounds” in textile innovation. The PTRI official said that the research institute’s revamped innovation strategy involves a “more robust” use of the patent system, starting with a patent search to identify white spaces in the textile innovation space to applying patent grants for its technologies at the earliest possible phase in research and development.
She also highlighted the role of IPOPHL for making IP more accessible in the regions through its IP satellite offices stationed at the Department of Trade and Industry regional offices but determined the need to widen the reach of IP services and assistance. “From soil to skin, [these industries] will provide many jobs—jobs for farmers, weavers, the mills, designers, the sewers and more,” Cruz-Evangelista added.