Professional Background
Atty. Ma. Sophia Editha C. Cruz-Abrenica, a Partner of the Firm has over twelve (12) years of experience in intellectual property prosecution for both trademarks and patents. She is among the few registered patent agents in the Philippines, having passed the Patent Agent Qualifying Examinations administered by the Philippine Intellectual Property Office. Sophia was hailed as one of the leading individuals in patent law by the IAM Patent 1000 2020 Rankings.
With her strong technical background and unwavering attention to details, Sophia easily handles the bulk of V&A Law’s patent applications and patent cancellation cases thereby putting to good use her extensive background in biochemistry and molecular biology. She has extensive experience in conducting freedom-to-operate searches, validity and patentability searches for V&A Law’s pharmaceutical clients as a precursor to commercialization of their products in the country. She also handles the trademark portfolios of widely known Korean brands such as Kia, Kawasaki, Paris Croissant and BTS.
Sophia is a member of the Patent Committee of the Asian Patent Attorneys’ Association and the Pharmaceuticals Committee of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property. She is also a member of the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP) and the ASEAN Intellectual Property Association. She has attended numerous conferences locally and internationally, and has been invited to speak at conferences and various scientific and legal fora. She has delivered lectures on topics such as polymerase chain reaction and updates on Philippine patent laws. She has also co-authored papers on topics ranging from targeting of cytotoxic lymphocytes to viral proteins and patent litigation practice. She formerly taught Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Parasitology in the University of the Philippines and the Ateneo de Manila University.
Sophia earned her Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo Law School where she graduated eighth in her batch. She also holds a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology and has solid scientific research experience as a result of her six (6) years of research studies in Belgium and Japan, specifically in the fields of biotechnology, immunology and virology. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Biology (Cum Laude) from the University of the Philippines.
