Reports and complaints on counterfeiting and piracy in the Philippines slid 40 percent to 92 in the first 11 months from 153 registered in the same period last year.
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines deputy director-general Teodoro Pascua attributed the drop to partnerships such as the successful 2021 E-commerce Memorandum of Understanding with e-commerce platforms and brand owners. The MOU aims to establish more efficient notice and take-down procedures and preventive measures on platforms.
“Our e-commerce continues to succeed with the help of partner brand-owners and industry groups. IPOPHL is pleased to see that platforms are constantly improving the mechanisms needed to combat counterfeiting and piracy,” said Pascua.
The IP Rights Enforcement Office registered 70 counts of counterfeiting and 22 of piracy this year.
Counterfeiting accounted for 75 percent of the total reports and complaints received. Apparel, comprised of shoes, clothes, bags and eyewear, remained the most counterfeited goods in the market with a share of 61.9 percent.
This was followed by perfume and beauty products with a 7.9-percent share; gadgets, 7.9 percent; food, 4.8 percent; home items, 4.8 percent; automotive materials, 3.2 percent; cigarettes, 3.2 percent; and pharmaceuticals/medical products, 1.6 percent.
Software topped the list of concerns for piracy at 33.3 percent. Shows and movies followed with 28.6 percent; artworks and paintings, 19 percent; general eBooks, 14.3 percent; educational books and eBooks, 4.8 percent.
Concerned citizens continued to be the most active IP violation reporters with 76.1 percent of total reports, but IPOPHL also began to see brand-owners take charge of IP rights reports and complaints, making up 23.4 percent of reporter classification.
Meanwhile, the online space remained the leading source of IP violations. Facebook still topped the list, accounting for 60.6 percent of online reports and complaints. This was followed by other websites at 15 percent; Shopee, 12.1 percent; Instagram, 6 percent; and Lazada, 5 percent.
“Consumers are advised to be wary of fake and pirated goods, especially during the holiday season. The public is encouraged to maximize e-commerce platforms’ takedown mechanisms and the IPOPHL reports and complaints channels,” Pascua said.
The IEO plans to implement faster site-blocking by issuing the rules for an expedited process in disrupting access to IP-infringing websites and forging a partnership with the internet service providers to facilitate the blocking process.
It will also establish a case tracking system for profiling IP violators, identification of predicate crimes and generation of IP case statistics to monitor trends.
The IEO said it would sustain collaboration efforts with government agencies and educational institutions to set up their anti-counterfeit and anti-piracy policies.
