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Friday, March 29, 2024

Group seeks stronger law against piracy

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A consumer advocacy group urges Congress to hasten the passage of an anti-piracy measure, saying that pertinent laws would give stronger protection to intellectual property owners, harness local talent and creativity, and provide consumers a safe digital environment.

“We should encourage and develop, not discourage and disincentivize, the potential of the Filipino talent toward being a global creative powerhouse,” said lawyer Tim Abejo, co-convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines. “To this end, we implore our lawmakers to act on House Bill 799 authored by Rep. Joey Salceda. This will be the first bill for urgent reforms to the Intellectual Property Code that institutionalizes site blocking as an anti-piracy strategy,” Abejo said.

House Bill 799 entitled “An Act Establishing for The Revised Intellectual Property Code of The Philippines” seeks to amend the IP Code by expanding the power of regulators to address online violation of intellectual property rights.

The bill redefines pirated goods to include content in electronic or digital form, allows the IPOPHL to temporarily or permanently block websites and other platforms, broadens regulators’ powers to conduct intelligence gathering and block sites in coordination with other government agencies or intermediary service providers, and prescribes penalties against Intellectual Property Rights violators of up to P1 million.

Abejo said the bill already enjoys wide support from stakeholders in the creative industry, telecommunication companies, and internet service providers.

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Salceda, during a recent summit dubbed “Content Piracy: A Barrier to Economic Growth and A Danger to Consumers”, organized by the Asia Video Industry Association, the Coalition Against Piracy and Globe Telecom, said there remains many things to do to combat online piracy.

He proposed a five-point strategy for knowledge industries that could arrest this problem and enable the industry to enjoy the support it deserves.

“First, we have to build capacity through investments from the government, the private sector, and joint public and private sectors,” he said. “We should provide incentives for research and development, pay attention to creative industries, science and technology, and lift foreign-equity restrictions in knowledge-heavy sectors, among others,” Salceda said.

He also proposed “cross-pollination” — allowing knowledge sharing and knowledge transfer from foreign experts through tax and non-tax incentives.

Salceda also cited the need for fair taxation – the imposition of VAT on foreign digital services on parity with domestic service providers; market creation or government procurement of more Filipino creative works and promotion of creative Filipino culture here and abroad; and legal protection, which includes legislation such as the Creative Industries Development Act that protects the rights and welfare of creative sector workers, the Freelance Protection Act protecting the rights of freelance workers.

“Billions of pesos are being drained from the economy because of online piracy,” said Abejo.

“Thousands of creative workers and those in linked sectors are losing opportunities and getting disenfranchised when they could be part of a competitive industry of digital innovators and media creators,” he said.

It is a daunting task, he said, but it could be done in the same way South Korea developed a successful global entertainment industry, with a music market estimated at $6 billion, according to the IFPI Global Music Report.

“There is no doubt that talent and excellence are two words that apply to Filipinos,” Abejo added.

“(What) our government could do is protect and support them so they could reach their full potential and transform our damaged creative industry into a global powerhouse of artistic geniuses,” Abejo said.

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