Professional Background

Ms. Bunye heads the Mining & Natural Resources Department and the Energy practice group, and is also a Partner in the Intellectual Property Department.

Her Intellectual Property practice is focused on trademarks and IP commercialization, including licensing and franchising, and the registration of food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products with the Food & Drug Administration.

She was the President of the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) from 2016-2017, the first Filipino and Southeast Asian to hold the position.  She likewise served as President-Elect [2015-2016], Vice President [2011-2013] and Chair of the Asia Pacific Committee for two consecutive terms. She is also a past President of LES Philippines. She has spoken in many countries on IP licensing in the Philippines. In 2020, she received LESI’s Peter K. Hess Award of Achievement which is conferred on LES members who have made lasting contributions to LESI and the licensing profession.

In her Mining & Natural Resources practice, she is recognized among the foremost mining lawyers in the Philippines. In the 2015 edition of the Chambers directory, Patricia is cited as being “highly regarded by both peers and clients in this industry.”

She is an active member of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines’ Legal Committee and is a regular speaker in the Mining 101 course of the University of the Philippines lecture series. She is the founding President of Diwata-Women in Resource Development, Inc., a non-government organization advocating the responsible development of the Philippines’ wealth in resources, principally, through industries such as mining, oil and gas, quarrying, and other mineral resources from the earth for processing.

She is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors and the Chairman of the Good Governance Committee of the Makati Business Club.

Patricia has likewise served in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines in various capacities, including as Chapter President. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in 1993. She also holds a degree in Bachelor of Science, Major in Legal Management from the same University.

Her socio-civic involvements include her work as a Director of the Catholic Mass Media Awards.

Recent Publications

• International Licensing and Technology Transfer: Practice and the Law, Suppl. 20 – Contributor, Philippines
• Laws Affecting IP Licensing—Philippines, Les Nouvelles June 2023.
• The Legal 500 In-House Lawyer Country Comparative Guide: Philippines: Intellectual Property – Country Author
• Alternative Energy & Power 2019
• Getting the Deal Through: Mining 2018 – Contributor, Philippines
• Getting the Deal Through: Electricity Regulation 2017 – Contributor, Philippines
• Energy Investment Council Created to Promote Significant Energy Projects in the Philippines
• Lexology: Mining in the Philippines (2020)
• Global Legal Insights – Energy 2020 – Philippines
• Chambers Practice Guide: Environmental Law 2019 Second Edition – Law and Practice
• Chambers Practice Guide: Environmental Law 2019 Second Edition – Trends and Updates
• ICLG: Philippines: Mining Laws and Regulations
• Chambers Practice Guide: Alternative Energy & Power – Law and Practice (Philippines)
• Current trends in the Philippine mining and energy sectors (2018)
• Columns written for Philippine Resources Journal





More about Patricia

• Is Covid-19 an opportunity to renegotiate a contract? Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia senior partner Patricia Bunye and other Asia Pacific experts answer the question in Asia IP
• Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia senior partner Patricia Bunye among Asia Business Law Journal’s Asia’s Top Women in Law
• Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia is proud of this latest accolade for its IP partners Susan Villanueva, Patricia Bunye and Divina Pedron who are named among Asia IP‘s The Philippines’ IP Experts 2020
• Patricia Bunye featured in Asia IP’s March feature on ‘The IP experience according to Asia’s Women of IP’
• Senior partner Patricia Bunye, head of CMT’s Mining & Natural Resources/Energy practice, writes about the development of Renewable Energy law & regulation in the Philippines in an article in Asia Business Law Journal

 





Awards

• Past President (2016-2017), Licensing Executives Society International
• The Philippines’ Top 100 Lawyers (2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018)
• Distinguished Practitioner, Intellectual Property, Asialaw Leading Lawyers (2022/2023, 2021, 2020)
• Market-Leading Lawyer, Energy & Natural Resources and Intellectual Property, Asialaw Leading Lawyers (2019, 2018)
• Leading Individual, Projects and Energy, Asia-Pacific Legal 500 (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016)
• Leading Individual, Intellectual Property, Asia-Pacific Legal 500 (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017)
• Highly Regarded, IFLR1000 (2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018)
• Leading-Lawyer Highly Regarded, IFLR1000 (30^th Edition)
• Ranked Lawyer, Intellectual Property and Projects, Infrastructure and Energy, Chambers Asia-Pacific (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015)
• Philippine IP Experts, Asia IP (2021, 2020)
• Trademark Stars, IP Stars (2020, 2018)
• Global IP Star, Managing Intellectual Property IP Stars (2018)
• Silver Rank, Intellectual Property, World Trademark Review 1000 (2022, 2019, 2017)
• Ranked, Leading TM Professional in the Philippines, World Trademark Review 1000 (2024, 2020, 2018)