USTR to review Phl copyright law

MANILA, Philippines - A team from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) is set to visit the Philippines to review the country’s implementation of copyright law.

“The US government is sending a special assessment team to review our implementation of the copyright law,” Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) director general Ricardo Blancaflor said yesterday.

“There is no specific date yet for the visit but I told them they can come as early as July,” he added.

He said the government is optimistic the review will result in the removal of the country from the USTR’s watch list of countries with IP rights violations as the government is set to finalize the implementing regulations of the IP code.

In the USTR’s 2013 Special 301 Report released earlier this year, the Philippines was retained in the watch list of countries with IP violations, subject to further review of progress in key areas.

Countries placed on the watch list are those which need to address underlying IP rights problems.

The USTR said in the report it wants the Philippines to take important steps to address piracy over the Internet.

It also said that while the Philippine government has already moved to modernize its copyright and IP rights enforcement regimes with the amendment of the IP Code, it will still need to see the implementing regulations that will further strengthen and clarify the law.

President Aquino signed the amendments to the IP Code in February.

Blancaflor said the IPOPHL is set to complete the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the IP Code covering copyright infringement, enforcement and royalties by Aug. 14.

He said that as the IPOPHL is working on the IRR, the agency will also push for the ratification of the Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons who are Blind, Visually Impaired or otherwise Print Disabled.

The treaty which was adopted by the members of the World Intellectual Property Organization last month in Morocco requires signatory countries to permit the reproduction as well as distribution of published works in accessible formats such as Braille, audio books and large prints.

The amended IP Code of the Philippines only allows the reproduction or distribution of published works in a specialized format for the blind and visually impaired on a non-profit basis.

Data released from the IPOPHL showed that the value of counterfeit items seized by the government for the January to June period reached P2.173 billion, 30 percent lower than in the same period last year.

Blancaflor said the value of counterfeit items seized this year declined as more luxury bags and watches were confiscated last year.

Despite the lower value of counterfeit items obtained this year, he said the government will continue to work hard to enforce IP rights.