Organized by University Intellectual Property Rights and Commercialization Office (UIPRCO), Catanduanes State University (CatSU) faculty and student researchers from various colleges, including Panganiban Campus, took part in a two-day Intellectual Property (IP) workshop that opened on September 29 at the ARDCI Function Hall.

The training titled “IDEA: Innovation and Discovery Empowerment through Awareness” is part of the Intellectual Property and Technology Business Management (IP-TBM) project funded by the Department of Science and Technology–Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (DOST-PCAARRD), and supported under the RAISE program.

UIPRCO Director and IP-TBM Project Leader Kristopher T. Visaya underscored the role of IP in advancing both national innovation goals and the university’s standing in the State Universities and Colleges (SUC) Leveling Framework. 

“By enhancing our capabilities in patent crafting and intellectual property management, we can take research to the next level,” he said.

Vice President for Research, Extension, and Production Affairs Dr. Roberto B. Barba, Jr. challenged participants to translate their studies into technologies that directly benefit communities. 

“The true value of the university will only be realized when we are felt by the community,” he stated.

He also shared the recent approval of the university’s spinoff policy by the administrative council, which will allow faculty-researchers up to two years’ leave to focus on the commercialization of their research outputs.

The workshop featured lectures from College of Engineering and Architecture Dean Engr. Dexter M. Toyado, who discussed IP rights and infringement cases, and Engr. Karl Kenneth S. Araojo, newly-installed IP section head of UIPRCO, who trained participants on patent search tools. Project Technical Aide Jhaychrisse F. Manlagñit also presented updates on CatSU’s IP-TBM project.

Participants later engaged in hands-on exercises, conducting prior art searches and drafting reports to assess the novelty and patentability of research ideas.