THE INTELLECTUAL Property Office (IPO) is urging mango growers to patent the name "Manila mango" to prevent other countries from riding on its popularity.
Mangoes bearing the brand "Manila mango" were recently reported to have been found in the United States, grown in Mexico.
IPO director general Adrian Cristobal Jr. said he was scheduled to meet with the Mango Product Exporters Confederation next week to look at ways on how to provide mango growers with the necessary intellectual property protection.
Cristobal said he recently ordered a search for trademark applications for the name "Manila mango" in intellectual property offices worldwide.
An initial search of the United States Patent and Trademark Office showed an application for trademark registration for "Manila mango" filed in 1994 and abandoned the following year, he said.
Trademark searches were also made in the intellectual property offices of Canada, Australia, Mexico and Spain to ensure that no other entity had yet staked its claim on the name that rightfully belonged to the Philippine export product, he said in a statement.
"What we are opposing is the use of geographical names as brands or trademarks," Cristobal said. "The Manila name rightfully belongs to no other country but the Philippines."
He said the IPO had also requested the assistance of the Philippine ambassador to Mexico and the Philippine commercial attaché and trade representative to the US, to gather more information on the "Manila mango" trademark.
"If there is any trademark application on Manila mango, we will support our local producers to institute the necessary action to oppose it," he said.
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