Manila: For 12 consecutive years, the Philippines has remained off the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Watch List, which indicates progress in protecting and enforcing intellectual property (IP) rights. The 2025 Special 301 Report, published by the USTR, serves as an annual review of the global state of IP protection and enforcement.
According to Philippines News Agency, this year’s report recognized several efforts by the Philippine government to strengthen IP rights, including the establishment of the e-Commerce Bureau under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). This bureau enhances regulatory oversight of online transactions and helps curb the sale of counterfeit goods in digital marketplaces. Additionally, the report lauded the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines’ (IPOPHL) initiatives in public education and building judicial capacity.
“The United States and the Philippines held a technical meeting in June to discuss IP issues raised under the United States-Philippines TIFA (Trade and Investment Framework Agreement), followed by a TIFA meeting in July,” the report noted. However, it also raised concerns about the Philippines being among the top sources of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, which pose serious risks to consumer health and safety.
A recent study by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) found that China, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Vietnam are the leading sources of counterfeit medicines distributed globally. The report highlighted that US brands are the most popular targets for counterfeiters of medical products, with counterfeit US-brand medicines accounting for 38 percent of global counterfeit medicine seizures.
Meanwhile, countries under the report’s “priority watch list” include Argentina, Chile, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and Venezuela. The 2025 IP watch list also features Algeria, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Trkiye, and Vietnam.
