IPKey SEA dialogue for IP mediators advances capacity in the Philippines

IPKey SEA organized an ‘Exchange of Best Practice for Mediators’ in Manila on 23-24 April 2018. Opened by IP Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) Deputy Director General Nelson P. Laluces and IP Key SEA Project Leader Ignacio de Medrano Caballero, the event provided a venue for sharing the current initiatives of the IPOPHL on mediation in IP cases, and focused on discussions around ways of implementing IP mediation in the European Union and the Philippines.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Laluces emphasised the importance of realising the value of mediation, especially by policymakers of the respective governments. He invited the participants to take advantage of the expertise of the speakers from the European Union to talk about the intricacies, best practices, and structured procedures of mediation. 

Mr. de Medrano Caballero noted, "This is the very first activity of the [IP Key SEA] program that we officially launched 2 weeks ago in Bangkok. ...The Philippines is a very important country for the European Union on IP. As you know, we are negotiating a free trade agreement between the Philippines and the European Union. One of the objectives of the IP Key program is to facilitate the negotiations that are ongoing, through the activities such as the one we are having today."

Participating experts touched upon the practical components of IP dispute resolution through case studies and workshops, with the aim to develop the technical capacity of local mediators.

Further coverage of the event proceedings from IPOPHL is available here.