HTC Graduate School Conducts Benchmarking Visit to USM
September 8, 2026
The University of Southern Mindanao, through the Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer and Business Development Office (IPTTBDO), conducted a Patent Search and Drafting Workshop last August 28 and September 4, 2026, aimed to strengthening the capacity of faculty members and researchers involved in locally funded research projects.
The workshop emphasized the importance of protecting research outputs through intellectual property before these are publicly disclosed, utilized or commercialized. It also highlighted the value of conducting a patent search to determine whether a research output is novel and to identify existing technologies that may be related to the proposed invention.
During the first session on August 28, 2026, participants attended lectures and practical discussions on patent searching and patent claims drafting. Engr. Zygote He Sorupia discussed patent searching and guided the participants on how to identify and review relevant prior art. Engr. Marc Macbeth M. Toledo handled the session on patent claims drafting, focusing on how researchers can properly define and describe the essential features of their inventions through patent claims.
Following the lectures, the participants were tasked to apply what they learned to their respective research projects and technologies.
On September 4, 2026, the participating faculty members and researchers presented the outputs they developed based on the patent search and claims drafting sessions. The presentations provided an opportunity to assess the patentability potential of their research outputs, identify possible prior art, and further improve the initial patent claims prepared by the participants.
Dr. Jalaloden B. Marohom, Head of IPTTBDO, emphasized the importance of protecting university-developed technologies not only to secure intellectual property protection but also to contribute and strengthen the University’s growing portfolio of IP assets. He also highlighted the need to commercialize these technologies to reach its users, address real problems, and create meaningful impact in the community.
Through the workshop, USM-IPTTBDO continues to promote intellectual property awareness among the University’s faculty and researchers and encourages the early identification and protection of potentially patentable research outputs.
The activity forms part of the continuing efforts to strengthen the University’s intellectual property management and support the translation of research outputs into protected technologies with potential for utilization and commercialization.
