IAM Patent 1000, an industry-leading guide which identifies top patent practitioners in key jurisdictions around the world, has named Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia as one of the Philippines’ top patent prosecution and enforcement firms, ranking it in the Silver Band.
The publication noted that Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia has been designated as a patent agent for the Department of Science and Technology – Technology Application and Promotion Institute as a result of its in-house patent drafting capabilities. Besides prosecuting government-funded patent applications in food, technology and medical devices, its IP team taps into the firm’s experience in commercial litigation and licensing negotiations to carry out IP valuation.
Partner Rowanie A. Nakan was also named among top patent practitioners in the Philippines. According to IAM Patent 1000, “Rowanie Nakan is well known among her peers. She recently led a successful defence for United Laboratories and Thermapharma in a patent infringement case against Warner Lambert and Pfizer at the Supreme Court.”
Rowanie obtained her BS Applied Physics and Bachelor of Laws degrees from the University of the Philippines. Her technical and legal backgrounds led her to pursue the field of patents at the outset. She now heads the patent practice of Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia.
She is among the top passers of the 2007 Patent Agent Qualifying Examination (PAQE) administered by the Philippine Intellectual Property Office (IPOPHL) in cooperation with the European Patent Office (EPO). Aside from attending various patent drafting seminars sponsored by the IPOPHL, Rowanie also attended the 2011 Southeast Asian Patent Drafting Course in Hong Kong organized by the Fédération Internationale des Conseils en Propriété Intellectuelle (FICPI). Having regularly advised pharmaceutical companies, she spoke at the 2015 AIPPI (Association Internationale pour la Protection de la Propriété Intellectuelle) World Congress in Rio de Janeiro, where she discussed regulatory and trademark issues involved in selecting a brand name in the Philippine pharmaceutical industry. She was likewise engaged by the IPOPHL to speak in Continuing Legal Education classes in the Philippines, as well as in the WIPO-IPOPHL Summer School. She is a member of the Standing Committee on Patents of the AIPPI. A copy of IAM Patent 1000 2020 rankings is available here.