A new approach to replacing fakes in the Philippines

An innovative plan to replace counterfeit goods with local Filipino crafts has been proposed by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL). The drive for this is the increased enforcement leading to a reduction in sales of fake goods by traders in the notorious  Greenhill shopping centre. Greenhills is undergoing upgrade renovations.

The IPO sees a different benefit namely to insert IP into locally-made products.  They hope that  a newly opened Greenhills can become a premier showcase for high quality and inventive Filipino products created by Filipino inventors, entrepreneurs and designers. The IPOPHL Director offered its network of Innovation and Technology Support Offices that support local R&D, to help. They identified locally designed jewelry is one opportunity along with specialized crafts like doll-making both of which are threatened by overseas imports.