The impact of the innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSOs) on innovation, intellectual property (IP) protection and entrepreneurship in philippine engineering education

Abstract

This paper presents the impact of the intellectual property (IP) education program of the Innovation and Technology Support Offices (ITSOs) in Philippine universities, especially in the field of engineering and its allied courses. This descriptive study shows how the ITSOs' IP education program has led to the increase of patent applications from different engineering disciplines and the onset of technology commercialization in Philippine universities this decade. ITSOs were established in the different universities in the country to facilitate IP creation, protection and technology commercialization. Relevant information was gathered from the different ITSOs in the country and relevant statistics from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) were obtained for this paper. Prior to the birth of ITSO, intellectual property protection and technology commercialization activities in the field of engineering in Philippine universities were not apparent. This study reveals that since its founding in 2010, already 195 patent applications have been filed from more than 80 ITSO universities by December 31, 2015, compared to only 23 patent applications from 2007 to 2010 of the same universities. A breakthrough in technology commercialization of one chemical engineering patent from the University of San Carlos (USC) in 2014, followed by one chemical engineering patent from Adamson University in 2015, provides confirmation of the early success of the IP education program in Philippine universities. USC was able to license its chemical engineering technology with a private firm in Cebu City and has built a 200-million peso manufacturing plant that processes mango wastes to produce flour. Sixty-seven mango garbage collectors in the city were employed and provided with new homes through the company that the USC helped establish, a proof that IP education is gaining ground in the country.