IPOPHL: IP disputes can be settled until end-Feb.

Disputes involving intellectual property issues or IP can still be amicably settled until the end of the of the month, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said Monday. After Feb. 28, all the cases still pending with its mediation office will be treated as regular disputes and will go through a legal process toward resolution, IPOPHL said in a statement. According to the agency, those that should go through mandatory mediation include:

• Administrative complaints for violation of intellectual property rights and/or unfair competition;
• Inter partes (between the parties) cases;
• Disputes involving technology transfer payments;
• Disputes relating to the terms of a license involving the author's rights to public performance or other communication of his work;
• Cases appealed to the office of the director general from decisions of the Bureau of Legal Affairs and the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau; and
• All other cases which the director general may refer to for mediation during the settlement period.

"Cases with pending application for temporary restraining order/preliminary injunction, attachment or other ancillary remedies shall not be referred for mediation unless the parties, in joint written motion, request that the case be made to undergo mediation," IPOPHL said. A total of 124 cases are expected to undergo IPOPHL's mediation services during the ongoing settlement period until Feb. 28. So far, "in at least two cases, the parties are already in the process of drafting their compromise agreement," according to IPOPHL. — JE/VS, GMA News