THE anti-piracy campaign got an added boost on Thursday with the signing of a memorandum of agreement among the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa), the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) and the Optical Media Board (OMB) for the strict enforcement of the law protecting intellectual property in all international and local airports.

The MOA was signed by airport General Manager Jose Angel Honrado, OMB Chairman Ronnie Ricketts and IPO Director Frisco Guce in a ceremony held at the Miaa boardroom in Pasay City.

The MOA aims to prevent the movement of pirated products through the international and domestic airport terminals in the country.

Honrado said x-ray scanners would be employed to detect arriving passengers who had pirated compact discs or digital video discs in their check-in and hand-carried luggage.

He said mere possession of these items is a violation of Republic Act 8923, or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. Those convicted faces a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.

The IPO and the OMB would be given free hands in implementing the law in all airports, Honrado said.

He added authorities will launch a two-month information and awareness campaign to notify passengers of the new policy. While onboard, passengers would be warned to refrain from buying fake products or bringing them into the country.

Ricketts and Guce said the law would be followed to the letter after the information and awareness campaign.

Ricketts said he expects a decrease of pirated products sold in the country once the plan is implemented.

“The MOA has made it possible for us to frustrate the entry and movement of illegally obtained goods into and within the country,” Ricketts said.

Honrado said any information related to the movement of pirated items such as bags and clothing, and music and video discs in all the terminals would be reported to all the agencies involved for prompt action.

He says the IPO and OMB would be given access to the airport terminals to implement the intellectual property law inside the airport complex.