A House leader on Tuesday pushed for the enactment of a measure which shall empower the government to disable access to websites that are being used to infringe on copyrights.
KABAYAN Party-list Rep. Ron Salo, author of House Bill 8001, made the call after the House committees on information and communications technology, and trade and industry agreed to create a technical working group (TWG) to fine tune the bill.
“HB 8001 lays down the necessary legal framework, which will facilitate the proper coordination and support between the IPO and the NTC, in restricting access to websites that are being used to facilitate copyright violations,” Salo, a deputy majority leader, said.
Salo said common sites used for illegal distribution of copyrighted materials operate outside the Philippines, oftentimes in Eastern Europe. “Since those rogues operate outside of Philippine jurisdiction, the proper course of action would be to prevent our access to those sites,” Salo said.
Salo, a lawyer, said that for “meritorious cases” the IPO would have the authority to recommend to the NTC, the cancellation of licenses of internet service providers involved in copyright infringement.”
“With the advent of cyberspace, copyright infringement has taken a new form which is beyond the reach of the country’s administrative and regulatory agencies such as the NTC and IPO,” he said.
He pointed out that copyright infringement is no longer confined to the conventional or traditional ways of IPR violations. “Cyberspace has been used to evade liability and regulation,” he said.
“Once this bill becomes a law, our local creative wizards—musicians, filmmakers, content providers, and the entire Filipino entertainment industry will be protected from unauthorize use of their works, saving them losses amounting to billions of pesos,” Salo said.