Legislation for revised IP Code pushed

MANILA, Philippines – Stakeholders are urging senators to squeeze in the legislation of the revised Intellectual Property (IP) Code amid the ongoing budget hearings.

“There should be no reason for the delay of the passage of an amended anti-piracy bill as the country’s creative sector in particular, and the economy in general, have suffered enough from the effects of digital theft,” said lawyer Kit Belmonte, former congressman and co-convenor of CitizenWatch Phils.

Belmonte emphasized the absence of a legislative mandate in the Philippines to block sites with pirated contents following reports that the deliberations of some proposed measures were put on hold while both chambers of Congress are busy with the budget hearings of the General Appropriations Bill.

“One more day of delay is another day for internet pirates and cyber criminals to profit from the illegal streaming of copyrighted contents,” he said.

At least two separate proposals — Senate Bills 2150 and 2385 — are currently pending legislative action at the Trade and Industry committee of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano. 

Separately sponsored by Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla, both proposals seek to amend the 27-year old IP Code and remove its existing limitations to cover electronic and online content within the definition of pirated goods.

A counterpart measure, sponsored by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, has already passed the third and final reading at the House of Representatives.

Belmonte said that cyber criminals have been long taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of the existing IP Code. 

“And all that’s left to defend the copyrights of the Filipino artists’ creative assets is the collaborative efforts of the IPOPhil (Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines), National Telecommunications Commission and the internet service providers to put a stopgap measures against online piracy,” said Belmonte.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, piracy takes away around 7.1% of the country’s gross domestic product. 

This results in forgone revenue for the country and loss of livelihood, and it even threatens to inflict malware on devices consuming pirated content, which can be a gateway for scams.

In a statement, the IPOPHL also said that revising the 27-year-old IP code and mandating authorities to disable access to online sites infringing the copyrighted creative assets become imperative with the emergence of high technology being adopted by cyber criminals.

In 2022, the Philippines reportedly lost around $700 million due to the piracy of Filipino made TV shows and movies, as the country has been named as one of the top consumers of pirated content in Asia, according to a YouGov 2022 Piracy Landscape Survey.

IPOPHL director general Rowel Barba estimates that the Philippines will have around $1 billion in revenue leakage in 2027 if concerns regarding online piracy continue.