Our lawyers can assist you in crafting and sending an effective cease and desist letter to any third party violating your intellectual property right or agreement. A cease and desist campaign to be effective needs proactive follow-up work which our legal team can provide. Moreover, our firm can assist in verifying compliance as well as negotiating and drafting a settlement agreement and/or deed of undertaking.

In most cases, infringing items are imported into the Philippines. The Philippines has approximately 17 major ports of entry being monitored by the Bureau of Customs. To address the importation of counterfeit items into the country, the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BOC) has its own system of registering intellectual property rights. This BOC IP recordal system enables agents of the BOC to alert IP owners or their counsels if a suspected shipment of counterfeit items is being imported into the country. Once the suspected shipment is confirmed to be containing counterfeit goods, the shipment will not be allowed to enter the Philippine territory and forfeiture proceedings will ensue.

Our team can IPR owners in registering their intellectual property rights with the Bureau of Customs. We can also receive suspected shipment alerts on behalf of the client and we assist in the actual physical inspection to determine if indeed the suspected importation is counterfeit. Moreover, our team has a close working relationship with the BOC’s intellectual property unit making sure delays are avoided in the process of tracking a suspected shipment.

A search and seizure action is done through a validly court issued search warrant that will have to be enforced by authorized enforcement officers such as the agents from the National Bureau of Investigation or the Philippine National Police.

The enforcement team at J. Ponce Law works closely with credible and experienced private investigators specializing in investigating intellectual property violations to determine the location and quantity of the counterfeit items as well as the identity and relevant details of the infringer. Our team also works closely with agents of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police in conducting a search and seizure operation starting with preparing the necessary documents needed in applying for a court issued search warrant. After the infringing goods are seized, we also assist the IPR owners in drafting and filing the complaint with the public prosecutors’ office in order for a criminal case be filed against the infringers.

After the conduct of a raid action and after the complaint is filed, we can also assist in securing an Order from the proper court for the destruction of the counterfeit seized items.