Gov’t seizes P6.13B worth of fake goods

The National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights seized P6.13 billion worth of counterfeit and pirated products in the first nine months, 48 percent higher than the P4.14 billion recorded in the same period last year.

Data from the NCIPR member-agency Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) showed that the biggest haul was made by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), which seized P3.18 billion worth of counterfeit and pirated products from January to September.

BOC’s haul was 189 percent more than the P1.1 billion worth of fake products it confiscated during the same period last year.

Seizures made by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), on the other hand,  rose by almost 19 percent to P2.294 billion in the first nine months, from P1.93 billion a year ago.

The Optical Media Board (OMB) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), meanwhile, confiscated P638 million and P21.16 million worth of counterfeit and pirated products, respectively.

Both of these agencies, however, showed a decline in seizures of 91.7 percent for PNP, and 25 percent for OMB, from last year.

The government has been aggressively implementing various programs and measures on intellectual property rights enforcement to curb the proliferation of counterfeit and pirated products.

“The high level of seizures is also an indication that brand owners have become more cooperative in the intellectual property right enforcement,” IPOPHL director general Ricardo R. Blancaflor said earlier.

“The government still has to strive harder to cultivate respect for intellectual property in every Filipino so that counterfeiting and piracy will be totally eradicated. Ultimately, intellectual property rights owners will enjoy the rewards and benefits of their IP assets and will encourage more creativity and innovation among our people,” he said.