Interview: Ricardo Blancaflor, Philippines IP Office
15 May 2012
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Simon Crompton, Washington DC
The Philippines' decision to join the Madrid Protocol will be good for businesses, says Blancaflor, in an exclusive interview. Law firms need to realise that their clients pull the strings
At the end of April, the Philippines joined the Madrid Protocol on international trade marks. By depositing its instrument of accession with WIPO it became the 86th member of the system and probably the first of many to join in the next couple of years. Mexico and Colombia have, importantly, also taken steps to join, helping to fill in the Protocol's biggest gap: South America.
But joining Madrid threatens to undermine the trade mark prosecution business of many domestic law firms. Managing IP sat down with the head of the IP Office of the Philippines, Ricardo Blancaflor, to discuss domestic opposition to the Protocol, as well as his anti-counterfeiting work and amendments to the IP Code.
What was the primary reason you pushed for the Philippines to join the Madrid Protocol?
I think it was inevitable that the Philippines would join at some point....
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