UP ISSI through its Technology-based Business Incubation and Innovation (TBII) Program conducted a Seminar on Intellectual Property (IP) and Technology Valuation and Pricing on 25 May 2017. It aimed to provide knowledge on the fundamentals of intellectual property, technology transfer and its valuation and pricing to its own startup locators and other technology business incubators within UP Diliman with the idea of fostering creativity and innovation among startup entrepreneurs and reaping its benefits.
Prof. Rolando Ramon C. Diaz, UP ISSI Officer-in-Charge, gave the welcome remarks while acknowledging the four incubation centers in UP Diliman, namely UP ISSI TBII, Ayala Technohub, Advanced Science and Technology Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and the Enterprise Center. He also shared that incubation centers are supporting startups in their most critical stage, the first two to three years, where they are saddled with so much overhead costs. Other support programs that are offered to these startups are: short-term lease of office space and technical advice from experts in the areas of management, operations, finance and marketing.
Professor Diaz added that IP is the product of an imaginative human mind and the issue of valuation is a very important concern.
Meanwhile, in his message entitled “Business Incubators: A Way of Helping Budding Entrepreneurs”, UP ISSI TBII Manager and Head of Business Enterprise and Development Division Engr. Leoncio T. Cubillas, Jr. mentioned that the Institute’s TBII program is one of the many ways that UP ISSI is fulfilling its mandate to assist the promotion and development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
For her part, Kristine Mateo, assistant vice-president for the development sector of the Development Bank of the Philippines, mentioned about the programs of the Industrial Guarantee and Loan Fund (IGLF), the main sponsor of the seminar. She highlighted some success stories of entrepreneurs who were funded by IGLF. Being steeped in the banking industry, IGLF saw that the seminar would be an eye opener and a new learning experience for the bank, she said, and added that the learning points were important, engaging and relevant. IGLF is then challenging UP ISSI to maximize modern coaching techniques to nurture more talents in an unstable business environment, develop more trainings aimed at producing solutions to address long-term goals for poverty reduction and introduce practical, action-oriented approaches to promote social good and a more inclusive environment, she concluded.
During the lecture proper, Agnes May B. Bantigue, IP and technology transfer specialist and team leader of the Intellectual Property and Technology Transfer Division of the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (OVCRD) of UP Diliman, discussed the concepts of IP and technology transfer. She discussed IP laws on copyright, trademark, industrial design, patent, utility model, trade secret and IP rights (IPR). She also explained the process of sharing and transferring IP and IPR, research and development (R&D) and exploitation, R&D stages and mechanisms, and cited many cases to illustrate these concepts.
Meanwhile, Paul Jan Patrick P. Natividad, another IP and technology transfer specialist and staff member of the IP and Technology Transfer Division of the OVCRD, highlighted discussions on how IP and technology are valued while stressing that value itself is subjective. He discussed the various methods of valuing IP using historical cost, replacement cost, opportunity cost and the accepted practices in different industries.
Both Natividad and Bantigue noted that topics such as procedures for filing IP at the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines as well as branding and trademarks are also interesting and helpful topics for the participants.
Diogenes C. Dy, a certified public accountant and a faculty member at the UP Virata School of Business, focused on valuation and pricing of companies. He discussed the current valuation of tech companies and the method of valuation using the discounted cash flows. He believes that training on forecasting on financials is important for startup companies.
Romeo M. Javate, supervising science research specialist from the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of DOST discussed its Guidelines for the Venture Financing Program, which aims to accelerate the commercialization of new and innovative technologies and inventions by providing the necessary funding support to startup and technology-based projects.
All the resource speakers were able to shed some light on the questions posed by the participants during the open forum.
The seminar participants were staff, locators, students, startups and faculty members from UP ISSI’s TBII Program and Start Your Own Business course, DOST-PEZA Open TBI, DOST MIMAROPA Office, UP College of Fine Arts, UP College of Engineering, UP Diliman OVCRD, UP Asian Institute of Tourism, Dela Salle University Innovation and Technology Office, Quezon City Polytechnic University, New Era University, Far Eastern University, Manila Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Balai Kamai Enterprise, Blues Cutter and law firms.
Some participants who took part in business counseling sessions were able to receive sound business advice on organization, ownership, marketing, business registration and the Barangay Micro Business Enterprise law from UP ISSI’s roster of business specialists: Professor Diaz, Engineer Cubillas, and UP ISSI staff Reynold Ferdinand G. Manegdeg and Engr. Jefferson C. Sumalabe.
The UP ISSI TBII management is eyeing more activities this year to help entrepreneurs and startup companies especially in the four business incubators in UP to attain their vision and missions.
When are you going to conduct this seminar again regarding, Intellectual Property (IP) and Technology Valuation and Pricing?
Thanks
Johnson