The President has certified the Technology Transfer Act of 2008 as urgent. She did this after heeding the advice of the Departments of Science and Technology, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Health, Trade and Industry, Interior and Local Governments, Commission on Higher Education, and the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPhil). The full title of House Bill no 3270 is An Act for Providing the Framework and Support System for the Ownership, Management, Use and Commercialization of Intellectual Property Generated from Research and Development Funded by Government.
Its counterpart bill in the Senate is Senate Bill no 1721. The Bill comes on the heels of the 2006-2007 Global Competitiveness Report of the World Economic Forum, which ranked the Philippines in 71st place out of 125 countries in terms of technological readiness or ability to adopt technologies from home or abroad to enhance the productivity of its industries. According to Adrian Cristobal, director general of IPOPhil, his office had received only 43 patent applications from universities and research and development institutions (RDIs) for the years 1995 to 2005, or an average of 4.3 patent applications annually, which could account for the Philippines' poor showing in the Report.
The Bill applies to all research funded in whole or in part by government funds, but only Filipino RDIs are covered. In case of a corporation, Filipino ownership should at least be 60%. Ownership of intellectual property shall, in general, be vested in the RDI that actually performed the research. Exceptions to this rule include: when provisions of the IP Code on ownership by the inventor-employee apply; a waiver or limitation by the RDI itself of IP ownership; in cases of national emergency, extreme urgency, national interest, but allowing for just compensation and due process; failure of the RDI to inform the Government Funding Agency (GFA) of potential IP; failure of the RDI to protect potential IP; and if the RDI ceases to be a Filipino entity.
Insofar as government employees of RDIs are concerned, they can establish, manage or be officers of the spin-off companies, and in so doing, they can take leave without pay but with no interruption of their government service or loss of tenure, for a period not exceeding two years, subject to rules on conflict of interest.
Government RDIs undertaking technology transfer shall have the authority to use the income derived from commercialisation of the IP generated from R&D funded by GFAs, subject to rules on use, and regular audit by the Commission on Audit. All revenues from commercialisation of IP shall accrue to the RDIs unless there is a revenue sharing provision in the R&D funding agreement. The Bill was based on the US Bayh-Dole Act.
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| Editha R Hechanova |
Hechanova Bugay & Vilchez
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Philippines
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editharh@info.com.ph
