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THE
Philippines is making good progress toward meeting
global standards for the protection of
intellectual-property rights (IPR) and stands a good
chance of graduating from the United States’ piracy
watch list, intellectual- property law expert and George
Washington University Law School professor Ralph Oman
said Wednesday at a forum arranged by the United States
Embassy in Manila.
Oman
hailed upcoming amendments to Republic Act 8293, or the
Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, as
additions that would turn the Intellectual Property Code
into a “very strong copyright law” and that the
Philippines’ IPR code is potentially “world-class,”
especially should the amendments proposed by Sen.
Edgardo Angara in Senate Bill 880 be approved by
Congress.
In 2006,
the US Trade Representative removed the Philippines from
its so-called “Special 301” list, citing improvements in
intellectual- property protection, and placed the
country on the priority watch list in recognition of the
stepped-up and ongoing antipiracy campaign by local
authorities.
However,
Oman pointed out that the many raids conducted by
Philippine authorities on people and establishments
selling pirated products, such as software, music and
video discs and designer-label fashion and accessory
knockoffs, “is not a good use of limited [personnel]
resources.”
What the
Philippines needs, besides upgrades of the Intellectual
Property Code, which was enacted in 1998, is to add
“more personnel to the [Bureau of Customs, or BOC] and
[adopt] effective judicial management” to ensure the
filing of cases against and full prosecution of
copyright violators as both punishment of and deterrent
against piracy.
Oman
also recommended that law-enforcement agencies focus on
the “high-profile prosecution of a big [fish]” engaged
in piracy. He advocated education campaigns to “raise
awareness” of the need to stamp out piracy “for
long-term economic reasons as well as for the protection
of the intellectual property of Philippine artists,
creators and innovators,” with “high-profile advocates
helping to promote the fight against piracy.”
“You
have to push hard to protect your intellectual-property
rights,” Oman said, adding that protecting
intellectual-property rights “is everyone’s concern.” He
cited as a basis for his statements a paper by
George Washington
University Law School director Michael P. Ryan titled
“Intellectual Property and Economic Growth,” which
states that “technological innovation drives long-run
national economic growth.”
Ryan
said “the absence of effective property rights has been
identified as the main sources of low economic growth
and poverty. Property rights, depending on how they are
designed and enforced by the state, encourage or
discourage productive investment and savings.”
In a
nutshell, laws that provide strong, internationally
accepted modes of protection for intellectual- property
rights “will draw more investments and business to a
country,” while the lack of such legislation or flawed
intellectual-property rights laws “will keep investors
and business away.”
The
Philippines’ efforts to comply with global IPR standards
were hailed by Oman as “terrific.” According to the
Chan-Robles law firm’s web site, wwww.chanrobles.com,
the Philippines is a signatory to the following
international IPR treaties: The Convention Establishing
the World Intellectual Property Organization (since
1980); Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial
Property (since 1965); Budapest Treaty on the
International Recognition of the Deposit of
Microorganisms for Purposes of Patent Procedure (since
1981); the Berne Convention for the Protection of
Literary and Artistic Works (since 1951); the
International Convention for the Protection of
Performers, Producers of Phonographs and Broadcasting
Organizations (since 1984); and the Agreement on
Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights
(TRIPS Agreement).
What
remains is for the Philippines to become compliant with
the standards of the World Intellectual Property
Organization (Wipo), a specialized agency of the United
Nations dedicated to developing a balanced and
accessible international intellectual-property system
that “rewards creativity, stimulates innovation and
contributes to economic development while safeguarding
the public interest,” according to Wipo’s web site
www.wipo.int. Once the Philippines is compliant with
Wipo standards, Oman said, “the Philippines can become a
signatory to the Wipo treaties that will provide better
IPR protection for Filipino artists and creators.”
“The
Philippines has so much to protect,” Oman added,
agreeing with Angara’s proposed revision of the IP Code
to provide safeguards for Philippine-based writers,
artists, inventors and innovators to protect, own rights
to and license the use of their work online. Angara’s
proposed amendments include implementing more stringent
penalties against persons caught violating the country’s
IPR laws.
Angara’s
explanatory note to the amendments proposed in Senate
Bill 880 said: “The overriding goal of this proposal is
to provide an Internet environment where it is safe to
distribute and license protected material. Because in an
increasingly global arena, nothing less than a global
effort will ensure the effective protection and
development of intellectual property.” SB 880 was filed
in July last year and, according to member’s of Angara’s
staff, is on first reading.
While
Oman praised SB 880, he urged legislators to act swiftly
and effectively to ensure that “the required counterpart
bill is authored and filed” in the House of
Representatives so the Senate and House versions can be
finalized and consolidated “to provide a stronger IPR
law that complies with world standards” and enables law
enforcers to prosecute PR law violators more
effectively.
Finally,
the consolidated amendments bill must be “signed into
law” by President Arroyo and implemented, so the
Philippines becomes Wipo-compliant.
If all
these requirements are met, Oman said, “there is a good
chance the Philippines will graduate from the [IPR]
watch list.” |
