Intellectual Property

Managing and Founding Partner, Cerilles & Fernan Intellectual Property Law (CFIP Law)

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Mario is. an experienced lawyer with a demonstrated history of law practice in diverse fields including Intellectual Property (IP), Immigration and Dispute Resolution, and with qualifications to practice law both in the Philippines and in the State of New York (USA). He is also a skilled researcher with publications focusing on Human Rights, International Law, and IP Law and with years of experience as an educator in various learning institutions.

Mario first served as an Associate in ACCRA Law Offices wherein he handled corporate, immigration and Intellectual Property (IP) cases on behalf of local and international clients. He then went on to pursue further studies in world-class institutions including the University of California Berkeley School of Law wherein he finished his Master of Laws as an Asia Pacific Scholar and the London School of Economics and Political Science wherein he finished his Master of Science in Human Rights as a Chevening Scholar.

Upon his return, Mario and Harry launched CFIP Law. As part of the firm, Mario has had the privilege of handling the IP portfolios of multinational corporations including Guangzhou Leader Bio-Technology Co., Ltd., Brave Global WLL, Riverary Global LLC, Amazonas For U Limited, Inc. and Blackbough Swim. Mario handles multiple cross-border transactions wherein his license to practice law in the State of New York comes in handy. These include national phase entries of patented inventions in foreign jurisdictions including the United States of America, the United Arab Emirates and Japan. He is also handling international trademark applications through the Madrid protocol with designated countries such as China and the United States.

Aside from his law practice, Mario is an active member of the academic community. Mario is the Academic Program Direrctor of the Master in International Business Law program of the Asian Institute of Management. He is also a Senior Lecturer in the University of the Philippines College of Law, the country’s top university wherein he teaches subjects such as IP Law, Obligations and Contracts and Public International Law. Mario has also actively written articles which have appeared in publications such as the International Journal of Human Rights, Philippine Law Journal and the Enishi Magazine of the Japan Patent Office

For his work, Mario has earned a number of awards. He is a Bronze-tier awardee of the World Trademark Review for Enforcement and Litigation and Prosecution and Strategy. He has also been named as a Recommended Lawyer by Legal 500, a Notable Practitioner by ManagingIP and Asia Law, a Top IP Expert by Asia IP, and a Top Emerging IP Player by IPR Gorilla.

Mario works tirelessly for the improvement of the legal system in the country. Through his cases and his research, he advocates for the strengthening of IP laws and for the democratization of IP processes in the Philippines.

*AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS

Bronze ranking, Individuals: enforcement and litigation, World Trademark Review, 2024 Bronze ranking, Individuals: prosecution and strategy, World Trademark Review, 2024 Recommended Lawyer, Intellectual Property, The Legal 500, 2023 Top IP Expert, Asia IP, 2023 ​​Notable Practicioner, IP Stars (ManagingIP), 2023 Notable Practicioner, Intellectual Property, Asia Law, 2023 Bronze ranking, Individuals: enforcement and litigation, World Trademark Review, 2023 Bronze ranking, Individuals: prosecution and strategy, World Trademark Review, 2023 Recommended Lawyer, Intellectual Property, The Legal 500, 2022 Top IP Expert, Asia IP, 2022 Top Emerging IP Player, IPR Gorilla, 2021 Finalist, Managing Partner of the Year, Asian Legal Business, 2022 Finalist, Young Lawyer of the Year, Asian Legal Business, 2021

 

WIPO ADR Young IP Friends Connections, Japan Patent Office London School of Economics and Political Science Alumni Association Berkeley Club of the Philippines University of the Philippines Alumni Association Ateneo de Manila Alumni Association Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Rizal-San Juan-Mandaluyong Chapter

A. EDUCATIONAL DEGREES

LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE, LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, Master of Science in Human Rights, December 2019 Graduated with a Merit classification Chevening Scholar, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Government of the United Kingdom UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY, SCHOOL OF LAW, BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA, Master of Laws with Certificates of Specialization in Law and Technology and in Public Law and Regulation, August 2017 Best Oralist award, Legal Research and Writing Asia Pacific Scholarship Awardee UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, COLLEGE OF LAW, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY, Juris Doctor, April 2014 UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND PHILOSOPHY, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, April 2010 Graduated, Cum Laude Invitee, Phi Gamma Mu Honor Society and The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi

B. PROFESSIONAL LICENSES

NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION, member since 20233 INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES, member since 2015

C. CERTIFICATIONS 

Advanced International Certificate Course (AICC) on IP Asset Management for Business School Based on the IP Panorama Toolkit and DL-450 IP Management Course by Korean Intellectual Property Office, WIPO, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Korea Invention Promotion Association, April to November 2023 Japan Patent Office (JPO) IP Rights Training Course for Practitioners Specializing in Trademarks, JPO, September to October 2021 Advanced International Certificate Course (AICC) on IP Asset Management for Business School Based on the IP Panorama Toolkit and DL-450 IP Management Course by Korean Intellectual Property Office, WIPO, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and Korea Invention Promotion Association, March to September 2021

D. PUBLICATIONS

Mario Cerilles, Jr. and Harry Gwynn Omar Fernan, Analysing the interplay between the right to health and pharmaceutical patent rights in the introduction of a COVID-19 vaccine into the Philippines, International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. No. 13, Issue No. 3, July 22, 2021. Mario Cerilles, Jr., Overcoming Obstacles to the Quest for Genuine Accountability for Drug-Related EJKs in the Philippines, Vol. No. 65, Issue No. 2, Ateneo Law Journal, July 2021. Mario Cerilles, Jr., Philippine Human Rights in the Time of Pandemic: Assessing the Effectiveness of the Commission on Human Rights as an NHRI in the midst of COVID-19, 19, 93 (Special Online Feature) Philippine Law Journal, 47, 2020.