PHILIPPINES: INDIGENOUS NAMES, MARKS AND SYMBOLS 01 November 2010 Anne Mariae Celeste Jumadla of Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Law Offices discusses ways to protect the IP of indigenous peoples In response to the need to protect the cultural heritage of the indigenous peoples of the country, the Philippine legislature enacted Republic Act (RA) 8371,…
PHILIPPINES: CHANGING THE LAW TO REDUCE COST OF MEDICINES September 1, 2008 Ignacio Sapalo and Anne Mariae Celeste Jumadla of Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan outline the development of a law protecting against monopoly. The pharmaceutical patents landscape in the Philippines is expected to change with the passing by the Senate and House of…
Pinoy seafarers victims of piracy deserve equal protection of law Through the initiative of the SVBB law firm, the Democratic Independent Workers’ Association (DIWA) party-list representative is asking the Congress’ House committee on overseas workers affairs to look into the recent sea piracy incidents involving Filipino seafarers. In House Resolution 1474, filed last July 13,…
Illegal Dismissal Benefits In case of illegal dismissal, how much is a seafarer entitled to receive from his employers? His salaries for the unexpired portion of his employment contract or his salaries for three (3) months for every year of the unexpired term, whichever is less? The recent ruling of the Supreme Court in the…
Does a ‘fit to work” assessment issued by a company-designated physician beyond the 120-day period from the time the seafarer was medically repatriated, bar the latter from securing permanent and total disability benefits? The recent ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of Antonio M. Serrano vs. Gallant Maritime Services, Inc. and Marlow Navigation…
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Anne Mariae Celeste V. Jumadla Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bulilan Trademark registration is based on ownership, and only the owner of the mark is entitled to register it. This has been the view of the Philippine Supreme Court in numerous cases. In its most recent decision, the Supreme Court upheld the registration of Harvard University…
Foreign nationals or investor companies thinking of opening a business in the Philippines are well advised to know whether the planned business activity would constitute “doing business” in the Philippines as defined under Philippine law. Under the Foreign Investments Act (FIA) of 1991 the term “doing business” includes: soliciting orders, service contracts, opening offices, whether…
The Philippines is considered as the major supplier of maritime labor globally. Per POEA data, there were 330,404 Filipino seafarers deployed abroad comprising almost 30 percent of the global maritime labor force. The number of deployed Filipino seafarers has decreased from 2006 (274,497), 2007 (266,553) to 2008 (261,614) but increased in 2009 (330,404) while the…
Our Atty. Dennis R. Gorecho, head of the seafarers’ department, accompanied delegates from the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) -Philippines in the recent Regional East Asia Conference of the International Christian Maritime Association(ICMA) held last September 21-24, 2010 in Penang, Malaysia. During said regional conference, Fr Victor Labao was elected as the new regional coordinator…