Press Release
December 5, 2009

IMPROVE RP's I.P. LAWS, ATTRACT MORE INVESTORS - ANGARA

"As we promote our investment potentials to Asian giants, the flaws in Philippine intellectual property laws could provide a drawback for the country not just to investors but to our interests," warned Sen. Edgardo J. Angara as he urged the Senate to amend the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines. Angara seeks to include broadcast materials openly shared on the internet in the law, as this has become a common problem for Asian and Western providers in their international markets.

"One of our weak points, even in Asia as a whole, to attract investors in the science and technology, research and development, digital media and renewable energy sectors is the issue of piracy and the open exchange online. We must curb this and impose more defined mandates and penalties to violators," insisted Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE).

Proposed amendments of the existing IPC integrate more comprehensive and efficient strategies to respond to the upsurge of internet piracy and recognize the rights of performers, producers and broadcasters as due authors of their works; and acknowledge their right to control or be compensated for which their works are enjoyed by others. They also recognize the rights to distribution and rental, and rights to claim fees for certain forms of public broadcast.

"'Internet treaties' intended to modernize and supplement existing international treaties on copyright, responding to critical issues in digital technologies, especially in the dissemination of protected material on the internet," Angara noted. He has been staunch in advocating the country's abundant resources and manpower skills in the fields of science, research and engineering but lamented that this "easily treatable" issue is often overlooked.

Aside from consequent backlash to royalties and revenues for affected artists and producers, the Philippines, and Asia in general, also endures a reputation as an unsafe haven for investors in digital technology-based businesses such as software development, film production and multi-media. Legitimate video and music shops and rental outlets have closed down due to rampant piracy in the market.

More stringent penalties are then recommended for rights-violators; while immediate judicial relief and alternative options are proposed to be accorded actual and potential victims of infringement who would sustain incalculable losses for every minute that their works are used or exploited in the internet.

"Through these amendments, the Philippines ensures that rights-holders can effectively use technology to protect their own rights and to license their works online. This will also rectify the misconception that pirated goods are accepted in the country. In effect, we can be assured of more foreign

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