Professional Background
Ms. Rowanie A. Nakan is a Senior Partner in the Intellectual Property Department and heads the Patent Group of Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia. She graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law with a citation as one of the Outstanding Law Interns. She also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Physics from the National Institute of Physics, which is based in the same University. She is also an alumna of the Philippine Science High School-Southern Mindanao Campus. The combination of her technical and legal trainings inevitably led her to the field of patents.
Ms. Nakan’s patent prosecution practice spans eighteen (18) years and involves different technologies in various industries, including medical, electrical and software-related inventions. Her technical and legal backgrounds, patent trainings locally and abroad, coupled with actual experience in patent drafting, prosecution, freedom to operate searches, litigation, IP valuation, and commercialization, allow her to provide holistic and effective IP management strategies to her clients.
As an IP expert, she had been tapped by various Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Regional Offices to become a member of different Fairness Opinion Boards constituted for the issuance of Fairness Opinion Reports in connection with the commercialization of government-funded technologies.
She was also tapped by different government agencies such as the Philippine Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) and the DOST to give IP lectures, including patent drafting lectures. She has also spoken at the 2015 Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle (AIPPI) World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, where she discussed regulatory and trademark issues involved in selecting a brand name in the Philippine pharmaceutical industry.
Qualifications/Trainings:
- Certified IP Valuator, having been awarded last 25 April 2025 an Intellectual Property Valuation Certificate by the Association for Management and Valuation of Intangibles (AMAVI) after completing and passing the Course administered by AMAVI in cooperation with the Licensing Executives Society Philippines (LESP) and the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD)
- Among the top passers of the 2007 Patent Agent Qualifying Examination, which was then jointly administered by the IPOPHL and the European Patent Office
- Attended the 2011 Southeast Asian Patent Drafting Course in Hong Kong organized by the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle
- Attended the 2010 Japan Patent Office Training Course for Patent Experts
Recent Awards/Citations:
- Cited as among IAM Patent Global Leaders (2024-2025)
- IAM Patent 1000, Gold (2023), Silver (2022)
- IP Stars, Trademark Star and Patent Star (2022-2024)
- Legal 500, Next Generation Partner (2022-2025)
- Asia IP, IP Expert (2024)
- Recognized as one of the Best Lecturers for the 2024 training programs of the IP Academy of the IPOPHL