Filipino green technology innovators and enterprises could gain wider opportunities for investment and international collaboration as the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) recently formalized its partnership with WIPO GREEN, a global platform to connect green technology providers with green technology seekers and investors.
WIPO GREEN is a broad public-private partnership established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 2013 to support global efforts to fight climate change by supporting green innovations. By matching green technologies at various stages of development with suitable partners, the free, online marketplace helps create opportunities for collaboration, commercialization and wider adoption towards greener communities.
The network currently comprises 171 partners, including government institutions, intergovernmental organizations, academia and businesses committed to advancing the transition to climate- and environmentally-friendly technologies and practices.
At the heart of this initiative is the WIPO GREEN Database of Innovative Technologies and Needs, where technology providers, such as innovators, researchers and green startups, can showcase sustainable solutions. Meanwhile, technology seekers, such as investors, commercial enterprises and other organizations, can post requests for green solutions that respond to their specific needs.
As a WIPO GREEN partner, IPOPHL will provide expertise in IP protection and management and promote the database throughout its networks.
At present, the Office is exploring synergies with its existing green initiatives, particularly the Socially Relevant Technologies (SRT) Project and Green Technology (GreenTech) Incentive Program. As part of this initiative, previous SRT winners will be invited to learn more about WIPO GREEN and encouraged to participate as platform users. IPOPHL also intends to tap its Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSOs) for promotion among their stakeholders and integration of ITSO-based green innovations into the platform.
“So many Filipino innovations are emerging in response to the adverse environmental conditions of our time. But too often, their work remains unseen because they do not have enough exposure to the right opportunities,” said IPOPHL Director General Teodoro C. Pascua. “This initiative will help bring these innovations to the people and places where they can make a difference, whether here in the Philippines or beyond.”
IPOPHL’s formal partnership builds on the launch of the WIPO GREEN Acceleration Project in the Philippines in March this year, which matched enterprises in the fisheries and aquaculture sector with innovative technology providers to help address their specific needs. The project has identified over 30 technology seekers and over 30 technology providers, resulting in 11 matches to date. Third-party partner Eco Innovation Consultancy Inc. (EICI) led the project’s implementation and facilitated the uploading of related technologies and needs to the WIPO GREEN database. EICI is slated to continue the project’s implementation until the end of the year, pending possible extension.
As the Philippines’ national IP agency, IPOPHL will also be clustered under IPO GREEN, an initiative under WIPO GREEN that brings together IP offices to share knowledge and best practices that will enable them to formulate green policies and programs promoting green technology development.
Launched in 2022 with funding from the Japan Patent Office (JPO), IPO GREEN supports IP offices in exploring measures such as accelerated patent prosecution, green IP data analytics, financial incentives for green patent applications, regional cooperation and business matchmaking. It also provides research, policy resources and opportunities for offices to learn from one another’s initiatives. (Rawl Maliwat, IPOPHL Communications & Marketing Writer)
