The National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) held a surprise inspection at Greenhills in San Juan on March 23 (Friday). The survey inspection aimed at intensifying the broader campaign against the proliferation of fake goods in the local market. The activity also pre-empts the National Intellectual Property Month (April).

The National Book Development Board is a member of NCIPR, which is composed of 12 government agencies and attached agencies.

The NBDB, represented by Leonor G. Reyes, Director I, took part in the said inspection where officials educated sellers of counterfeit goods and products on the importance of respecting intellectual property rights (IPRs). Vendors were issued information notices, which also served as warning that they must comply with laws protecting IPRs.

NCIPR members will be conducting similar monitoring on vendors and marketers in Metro Manila in the following months. Next month, the NBDB is set to facilitate the survey inspection on counterfeit goods.

Director Reyes, who heads NBDB’s Accreditation and Incentives Division (AID) and Field Monitoring and Coordination Division (FMCD), also represented the Board during the press conference held on the same day.

Apart from the Intellectual Property of the Philippines (IPOPHL) and NBDB, NCIPR members are the Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Bureau of Customs, National Telecommunications Commission, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Optical Media Board, Food and Drug Administration, and the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime.