IP Expert

Overview

Atty. Editha R. Hechanova leads the HECHANOVA Group’s intellectual property law practice. The HECHANOVA Group is made up of Hechanova & Co., Inc. an intellectual property consulting firm handling trademark and patent prosecution, copyright and domain name registrations, product registration, management, valuation, searches, and other non-contentious aspect of intellectual property, where she is President/CEO. The contentious IP practice is handled by the other member firm, Hechanova Bugay Vilchez & Andaya-Racadio law offices which specialize in enforcement, litigation, alternative dispute resolution, licensing  corporate, immigration law and taxation.  Editha graduated from the University of the East with a business degree, major in Accounting, magna cum laude. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She obtained her law degree from the Ateneo de Manila University, and a Certificate in Strategic Business Economics from the University of Asia and the Pacific.  

Editha is an accredited mediator of the Court of Appeals and Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL)/WIPO, and arbitrator.  She is a Certified Patent Valuation Analyst (CPVA) by the Business Development Academy based in New Jersey, USA.   She passed the Patent Agent Qualifying Examination (PAQE) in 2008 conducted by the IPOPHL, and is currently the president of the Association of PAQE Professionals, Inc. consisting of PAQE passers.  She is an alumna of the South East Asia Patent Drafting Course (SEAD) conducted by the Federation des Conseils en Propriete Intellectuelle (FICPI), an international organization of patent and IP practitioners.   She is currently the Vice-President of the IP Collegium, an organization of IP experts mainly in the ASEAN region, India and Brazil, sponsored by the Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation (JIPII).

She has been cited as Leading Lawyer in the field of Intellectual Property Law in the Philippines by the AsiaLaw Magazine, from 2002 to 2020, and Who’s Who Legal Trademarks 2012, to 2020, and an MIP IP Star. She has been cited by the Asia Business Law Journal as one of the Top 100 Lawyers in the Philippines from 2018-2020.  Hechanova & Co., Inc. has been top patent filer and trademark filer from 2010 to 2020 according to the IPOPHL. The Hechanova Group has been recognized as the  Philippines Patent Firm of the Year for the 2020 Asia IP Awards.  In 2019, it was awarded the Philippines Copyright Firm of the Year, and in 2017, the Philippines Trademark Firm of the Year. 

She has led several enforcement actions against counterfeiters and infringers and is a member of the INTA Anti-Counterfeiting Committee (EAP),  and its Customs Project Team.