Inventions, innovations and discoveries have not been patented because of the difficulty in doing it. This problem is now being addressed by the Innovation and Technology Support Office (ITSO) to obtain the advantage of one’s work being patented. The ITSO has signed an agreement last November 2019 with Southern Leyte State University (SLSU), making the university as host institution.
The Innovation & Technology Support Office (ITSO) is a franchise of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), which is inspired by the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO), Technology and Innovation Support Centers (TISCs). It provides infrastructure support and services to demystify and democratize the patent system and to support Filipino innovations. ITSOs comprises a network of universities and research institutions.
The Southern Leyte State University became one of the Host Institutions operating an ITSO with a physical office on its premises. SLSU promulgated its IP Policy and established an ITSO Unit under the supervision of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office.
The SLSU-ITSO is committed to delivering the necessary support services. It supports IP creation by serving as a patent search facility & library for patent information, providing skills training in patent searching and rendering patent search services; IP protection by giving general information on patents and patenting, conducting skills training in patent drafting and prosecution, and rendering patent drafting and prosecution services; IP audit and evaluation services by providing licensing support; and identify possible IPs for commercialization and exploitation.
Currently, ITSO is organizing a training program for prior art search and patent drafting in order to encourage faculty members, researchers, students, and staff to register any IP that they have developed. The training started last October 12 to November 16, 2022. SLSU-ITSO has scheduled upskilling training on patent drafting for faculty members with patentable technologies, particularly in invention and utility models. The said activity shall provide a ready pool of science and technical experts with the competence to conduct a prior art search and patent drafting and assist in patent prosecution.
The IPOPHL organized a two-day capacity training on patent drafting for identified faculty members with patentable technologies, wherein three professionals from IPOPHL will serve as the resource speakers. SLSU requested the presence of resource persons from IPOPHL to create a critical mass of IP-knowledgeable community of faculty researchers, making them eligible to become credibly legitimate patent agents.
(Rio Katrina Avila)
Southern Leyte Times
