AN ADVOCACY group calls on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to certify as urgent the passage of anti-online piracy legislation now pending at the Senate to address online piracy, saying that these are critical to the socio-economic wellbeing of the people.
Lawyer Tim Abejo, co-convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines, said the 26-year-old Intellectual Property Code needs to be amended to respond
to new challenges in digital online platforms.
“We need to boost the creative economy, prevent opportunity loss, protect the interest of the Philippines’ rich and diverse talent pool, and even shield our citizens, especially the vulnerable, from online predators,” Abejo stressed.
“Online piracy harms the viability of the creative sector and undermines the values and creative spirit of our people,” he added.
“It also unduly incentivizes those whose only contribution is to find ways to profit from what is not theirs to begin with,” he noted.
Electronic and online content are currently not included in the IP Code’s definition of pirated goods.
House Bill 7600, which amends the IP Code, most notably in allowing authorities to block sites that provide pirated content, was
approved last May by the House of Representatives. The measure gives authority to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines
(IPOPHIL) to block websites that violate the IP Code and expands its enforcement functions to investigate, gather intelligence, and develop
countermeasures to piracy. It also establishes guidelines for internet service providers in blocking websites hosting pirated material.
A counterpart bill at the Senate has yet to be passed, even as at least one version sponsored by Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. proposes a definite timeline of five days for IPOPHIL to process piracy complaints by content owners.
“Pirates are fast and cunning. We must be faster and more aggressive.
We can’t be stuck deliberating whether the present mechanisms are enough. While we are still talking about all these, these pirates and
violators are already on their next move and profiting from their criminal acts.” Abejo said.
Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show that the creative industry is a vital contributor to the gross domestic product, accounting
for approximately 7.3 percent or P1.6 trillion of the gross value added in 2022.
The figure, however, was already lower than the 7.5 percent share reported in 2018, primarily due to piracy.
The local film industry, specifically, has borne the brunt of online piracy, even as it is already struggling to compete with foreign
productions and streaming platforms. A 2018 report by the Motion Picture Association (MPA) revealed that online piracy caused a 47-percent
decline in box office sales and a 72-percent drop in legitimate online transactions in the Philippines from 2012 to 2016.
The pandemic lockdowns enabled the pirates to gain heavily, with an estimated P1 billion in potential revenue losses to local video
producers, distributors and aggregators, according to Media Partners Asia in 2020.
“Instead of finding the right value for their work and being compensated commensurately for it, those in the creatives industry continue to
struggle against economic realities aggravated further by online piracy,” Abejo said.
“They might continue to do what they do for the sheer love of it, but they will always entertain the possibility of working somewhere where
their intellectual property is protected so that they can earn fairly and comfortably for their creative work.”
If this happens, Abejo said, the creatives industry, driven by the artistry, inventiveness, and skills of Filipinos, will suffer losses
and demoralization. “Online pirates take away the rightful reward and recognition for their work, and this will eventually discourage
creativity and innovation among our people and investors.”
As if this were not enough, some sites also carry content promoting the Online Sexual Abuse and Exploitation of Children (OSAEC), whereby
minors are exploited to perform sexual acts and streamed online. Other sites deceive users to share sensitive data for cyber-attacks on
individual or institutions alike.
“Right now, swift site blocking power is the apparent response to these threats,” Abejo said.
“That technology creates boundless possibilities is proven true, and in this case, the possibilities go both ways,” he added. “We have to
do everything in our power to limit the bad and destructive ways that technology can be used to the detriment of our people.”
