Professional Background

Atty. Maria Patricia P. Cruz is a Senior Associate of the Firm. Her medical expertise as a licensed physician aids in her work involving the prosecution and maintenance of patents as well as in patent litigation. Apart from patents, Atty. Cruz is also involved in the prosecution and maintenance of trademarks and the Firm’s growing domain name work. She also handles several trademark infringement, opposition, and cancellation cases in both administrative and judicial tribunals. Most of her work involves matters for key industry players such as ABS-CBN Corporation, Petron Corporation, and Innogen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

Atty. Cruz is an active member of the Intellectual Property Association of the Philippines (IPAP). She has co-authored articles mainly focusing on topics involving the interplay of law and public health such as medical negligence and telemedicine and local regulations on vaccine testing and development. Prior to joining the Firm in 2020, Atty. Cruz was an associate in a well-known law firm where she practiced intellectual property litigation, medical malpractice, and construction arbitration.

 

Prior to becoming a lawyer, Atty. Cruz obtained a medical degree from the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center. Her career as a medical doctor is dedicated to the advancement of health, through general medical practice and biomedical research. She also previously taught physiology, pharmacology, neuroscience and obstetrics and gynecology at San Beda College School of Medicine. She also served as a medical board exam lecturer for medical jurisprudence and legal medicine.

 

Atty. Cruz obtained her Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo De Manila University. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Biology (with honors) from the same university.