Videogram board now under DTI

The Videogram Regulatory Board (VRB) will be transferred from the Office of the President to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

This was revealed yesterday by Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II who said the DTI is deemed be more effective in supervising the VRB considering that it (DTI) already has jurisdiction over "piracy" issues. Placing the VRB under the DTI would consolidate the government’s campaign against video and Intellectual Property Right (IPR) piracy, Roxas said.

The DTI has an Intellectual Property Office (IPO) that regulates and issues copyright licenses.

The VRB is tasked primarily with issuing licenses to video shops. It regulates and rates videos. The VRB is also vested with "visitorial" powers to inspect video shops. It is empowered to seize tapes and videos not approved by the body.

The VRB can file the necessary criminal and administrative case against erring video shops and their operators.

A big entertainment group, AOL-Time Warner, had earlier raised concern about the Philippines’ growing reputation as a haven for IPR pirates.

An AOL-Time Warner executive said up to 70 percent of the video tapes sold in the Philippines are actually pirated.

The AOL-Time Warner official had said that entertainment video pirates now view the Philippines as a "soft target" which offers the "least resistance."– Marianne Go