The Philippine Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”) issued on 04 May 2020 Memorandum Circular (MC) No. 2020-012 allowing the conduct of mediation through online meetings/conferences.
Under MC No. 2020-012, parties to pending mediation proceedings may file an online request to conduct the mediation through online meetings/conferences, subject to the IPO’s approval.
Citing Sec. 4 of the Rules of Procedure for IPO Mediation Proceedings, as amended, which allows the Mediation Head to authorize the mediation be conducted at any other venue upon request of both parties, and provided the parties bear the related expenses, the IPO said that an agreement by the parties to conduct mediation through online meetings/conferences may be considered an agreement on the venue of the mediation.
A copy of MC No. 2020-012 is available here.
For more information on this announcement, you may direct your concerns to [email protected].