Copyright bureau to give more teeth to Phl IP laws

CEBU, Philippines - The existing intellectual property laws have just got more teeth following the creation of a new copyright bureau, top officials from the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said Thursday at the Visayas leg of its public consultation here in Cebu City.

Lawyer Mark Andrew Herrin from the Office of the Director General said the government is now on the phase of crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) for Republic Act No. 10372, which amends certain provisions on the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines by creating and specifying the functions of the Bureau of Copyright and Other Related Rights, among others.

Over the last few weeks, IPOPHL has been conducting a nationwide public consultation on the Act and hopes to come up with the final version of its IRR by September.

Herrin, who believes the foremost challenge faced by IPOPHL is to educate the people on copyright issues,  said the new law is a boost especially to the creative sector since it will help the general public understand what copyright in general is and why it’s important to respect it.

Wikipedia defines copyright as a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time.

"Generally, it is 'the right to copy', but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights," the web-based encyclopedia reads.

Apart from the creative industry, those who use copyrighted works like malls and commercial establishments are also seen to benefit from the new regulation, Herrin said.           

“For people who use copyrighted materials and who pay royalties, they are assured that they are charged the right amount, and that the charge goes to the right people,” Herrin explained on the new law’s benefits.

Campaign vs. pirates

With the amendments, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said in a report that the government’s campaign against IP pirates, infringers and criminal syndicates would be beefed up.  Rodriguez is one of the principal authors of the law.

“Ordinary citizens, like returning Filipinos and overseas workers, students, and members of the academe, have nothing to fear. The amendments are meant to protect the Filipino artists and creators, while making copyrighted works accessible to more Filipinos,” he said. 

The new law also allows religious, charitable and educational institutions to import more copies, “for as long as they are not infringing or pirating copies, so that more Filipino students in the country may use such works,” said Rodriguez.

Rodriguez added that RA 10372 does not criminalize “jail breaking,” or the practice of tweaking a communications gadget or circumventing technological measures.

He pointed out that what is prohibited is the illegal downloading of copyrighted works as this would amount to violating a copyright.

President Benigno Aquino III signed the bill into law last February 28, 2013. The IPOPHL is in the process of finalizing the rules to implement the amendments.

In a copy of the Act obtained by The FREEMAN, the Congress decided to insert a special section to include the functions of the Copyright Bureau.

The functions include exercising original jurisdiction to resolve disputes relating to the terms of a license involving the author’s right to public performance or other communication of his work; and accepting, reviewing and deciding on accreditation of collective management organizations; and providing other copyright and related rights service and charge reasonable fees therefore.

Limitations

The amendments, Herrin said, also give enforcement power to IPOPHL, and provide for certain limitations and exceptions on copyright holders under existing national laws.

“There is now a limitation on the rights of copyright holders by allowing the reproduction and distribution of published articles and materials in a special format, exclusively for use of the visually- and reading-impaired persons, and on a non-profit basis,” IPOPHL said in a recent report.

The report also mentioned that in the Philippines, there were over 450,000 blind and about three million visually-impaired persons in 2002, a significant bloc of which being poor Filipinos.

“Because of their impairment, they don’t have ready access to books, educational materials and other copyrighted works. Visually impaired children of school age are especially placed at a disadvantage because they are deprived of the access to books which are important not only for their learning, but also for seeking future employment,” the report read. (FREEMAN)