The Philippines, through the government sector, aggressively pursues agricultural biotechnology (agri-biotech) research to increase productivity in agriculture and fishery. The proliferation of claims of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on modern biotechnology tools, products, and processes worldwide, however, poses constraints to their acquisition, transfer, and commercialization in developing countries. The capacity of the institutions in dealing with IPR issues needs to be enhanced, particularly relating to the generation of technologies and protection in their use. This study is probably the first local attempt at measuring the impact of IPRs on the generation and commercialization of agri-biotech products in the Philippines. Through a survey participated in by 100 scientists and researchers selected from 11 institutions working on agri-biotech under the Department of Agriculture (DA), initially we determined their knowledge and level of preparedness in dealing with issues on agri-biotech and IPR. The data suggests that majority of the scientists are aware of IPR and its surrounding issues, and consider them as significant factors in contributing to the acceleration of the generation and commercialization of public agri-biotech products in the country. The respondents strongly agree that IPR is beneficial to research and development (R&D) work They believe that biotechnology products need to be commercialized to be beneficial, and IPR is critical in this regard The study also revealed that DA's IPR policy has started changing the mindset of DA scientists and researchers toward seeking protection and commercializing their IPs. More efforts, how vever, have to be exerted to further institute IP management in these institutions, to encourage their researchers to protect and commercialize their IPs. This should eventually bring about public-private partnerships, bringing more locally developed agri-biotech products to the market. The findings can serve as reference points in developing frameworks and strategies for the institutionalization of an IPR program at DA and other departments to accelerate the generation and commercialization of public agri-biotech products in the country.
