A three-day training on how intellectual property (IP) management can be integrated with the research and development process was conducted on July 4-6, 2017.
Held through the initiative of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD), the training equipped 17 researchers with the rudiments of IP management such as invention spotting, prior art search, documentation, and interpretation in relation to technologies derived from R&D projects.
The training was conducted at the DOST-PCAARRD Innovation and Technology Center (DPITC), which now serves as the one-stop hub for inventors and technology users in the agriculture, aquatic and natural resources sectors.
Brianne Nicole A. Sanchez and Wilfredo O. Calaguan from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines served as the resource speakers and course facilitators for the modules on Patent Search, Documentation, and claims Interpretation.
The participants navigated through patent databases using the patent classification system, keywords and various patent search tools and strategies.
On the third day, Caezar Angelito E. Arceo from the DOST-Technology Application and Promotion Institute (DOST-TAPI), led the lecture-discussion on invention spotting, a crucial concern with respect to prior art.
Dr. Edwin C. Villar, PCAARRD Acting Deputy Executive Director for Research and Development, for his part, assured the participants of the Council’s continual support in capacitating its institutional partners through degree and non-degree trainings.
Villar also mentioned that aside from IP-management related trainings, PCAARRD would also roll out commodity-based innovation and technology trainings for higher education institutions and other PCAARRD institutional partners.
In relation to the importance of the IP training, Villar also mentioned PCAARRD’s significant role in the crafting of the Philippine Technology Transfer Act of 2010, a token of how the Council sees itself as a bastion for technology transfer and commercialization for the AANR sector.