To establish a leveled-off understanding of the relevance and applicability of the republic Act 8293 or Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines and the IP system in the government setting,  the Social Welfare Institutional Development Bureau (SWIDB), through its Knowledge Management Division, conducted the 2022 Knowledge Fair: Learning Sessions on Intellectual Property on 11-13 May 2022 participated by 141 staff from the Central Office and Field Offices. 

This year’s Knowledge Fair focused on the discussion of Intellectual Property as part of the Department’s mechanisms to safeguard the knowledge created and shared both internally and externally with clients and stakeholders. The participants were introduced to essential concepts of the Intellectual Property System, Building the DSWD IP Brand, Processes on Intellectual Property Application, Publisher Registration for Government Agencies, and International Book Number (ISBN) and International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) Application.  Resource Persons from the various government institutions discussed the technical topics in the three-day learning sessions– Mr. Adrian Sablan and Engr. Aldrex Aviso from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines, Ms. Maria Carolina Tapia from the National Book Development Board, and Mr. Romnick M. Gayanilo from the National Library of the Philippines. 

“This learning session on Intellectual Property is very timely and crucial for strengthening the capacity of the Department in providing technical assistance to our stakeholders. In our transition, we need to increase our efforts in research and development, process improvement, and innovation and technology development–all of which require the protection of intellectual property,” DSWD Secretary Rolando Joselito Bautista highlighted during his keynote address.

This activity served as a springboard to the development of the DSWD’s Intellectual Property Policy to address the knowledge security requirement of the Department’s Knowledge Management System, its core strategy for institutional development, which is vital in strengthening its steering role in the provision of social welfare and development programs in the country.