DICT prods lawmakers to hasten legislation of revised IP Code

THE DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is urging Congress to hasten the passage of an amended Intellectual Property Code (IPC), which will include provisions against high-tech online piracy.

“Amid the evolving technological complexities in cyber crimes, our IPC is in need of a strong defense to repel digital theft,” said DICT spokesman Asec. Renato Paraiso.

Paraiso was refering to at least two Senate bills and a House-approved measure that seek to strengthen the powers of the 27-year old IPC amid unabated infringement on Filipino artists’ rights to their creative assets.

Authored by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Senate Bill 2150 seeks to strengthen the powers and functions of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHIL) to combat online piracy, but remained unacted upon at the Senate committee on trade and industry.

Another pending measure, which also seeks to enhance the powers of IPOPHIL to curb digital theft, is Senate Bill 2385 authored by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr.

At the House of Representatives, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda’s House Bill 7600 was already approved on third and final reading and is also pending at the Senate.

No Senate action was heard in the past months on these unfinished legislations, which seek to broaden the IPOPHIL’s powers for the country to better adapt to advacements in technology and address the chronic issue of cybercrimes such as digital piracy.

In a press briefing, Paraiso said the instruction of DICT Secretary Ivan Uy to the agency’s technical and legal teams was clear: “Extend full support to legislative committees working on the immediate revision of our old IPC.”

At present, a collaborative effort by the National Telecommunications Commision, the IPOPHIL, and local internet service providers is all Filipino artists could rely on for stopgap protection of their creative works against infringement.

According to Paraiso, revising the IPC with provisions that confront the emerging cutting-edge technology being adopted by cyber criminals should be the first approach to effectively ending online piracy.

The Philippine Statistics Authority earlier said that digital content theft is taking away at least 7.1 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The PSA added that piracy has resulted in forgone revenue for the country and loss of livelihood, and even threatens to inflict malware on web devices that consume pirated content.

The Philippines reportedly lost around $700 million due to piracy of Filipino-made TV shows and movies, as the country has been named one of the top consumers of pirated content in Asia.