IP code needs an update in Philippines, says Salceda

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s intellectual property laws sorely needs an update, considering the onslaught of digital piracy hampering economic growth according to a House lawmaker.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda told a forum on Friday that the Philippines can be a “world power” in intellectual property, provided updates to the current IP Code is passed.

“You cannot protect what you don’t have,” he told an audience in the Coalition Against Piracy’s digital piracy summit.

Salceda bared the list of amendments already included in House Bill No. 2672. This range from recognition of extended collective licenses, giving the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines greater powers to take down infringing materials and raising civil and criminal penalties for offenders.

In addition, he cited the need to redefine what constitutes pirated goods to include digital content and site blocking.

Citing old data, it showed the Philippines figured in the top 10 of creative goods exporters in developing economies back in 2015. The country tallied $1.01 billion, in comparison to China, which recorded $168.51 billion.

Business groups are likewise lobbying for amendments in intellectual property rights, which was briefly mentioned by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his first national address.

Louis Boswell, chief executive officer of the Asia Video Industry Association, asserted the need for stringent greater public sector support.

“If producers of content are being chopped of the knees because their content is stolen, that is going to massively affect the Philippine economy’s ability to grow,” he said.

This sector is already exposed to a global economy enduring digital piracy while evolving to become increasingly competitive. Citing global data, the digital counterfeiting and piracy comprised 2.5% of global trade.

Estimates bared by Salceda showed that the value of domestically produced and consumer counterfeit and pirated goods could range from $524-959 billion this year, but he said this is “probably much lower for the Philippines.”

But the impact is greater despite the lack of empirical evidence. Jil Go, head of broadcast and publishing for local media company Kroma, estimated the impact of digital piracy on their business amounted to a 50% loss on expected revenues.

That said, Salceda believes that the Philippines needs to be competitive in this sector if it wants to reap the benefits of economic growth. The House lawmaker a list of strategies that the Marcos Jr. administration could execute, including fair taxation on digital service providers and a government procurement program of creative works by Filipinos.

This could also include boosting the country’s public education system to boost the creative products coming out of the country. This came amid recent World Bank data reporting that learning poverty in the Philippines amounted to nine out of 10 Filipinos who cannot read nor understand short texts by age 10.  

“Youth and innovation. Reason why we should protect IP rights. The youth is an intrinsic source of creativity and dynamism” he said.