Intellectual Property Office pushes creation of Bureau of Copyright

Filipino performers, musicians, composers, authors and publishers stand to benefit from the creation of the Bureau of Copyright, which will be empowered to enforce the amended Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines.

The Bureau of Copyright, an agency to be set up by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), as provided by Republic Act 10372 or An Act Amending Certain Provisions Of the IP Code, will be tasked to accredit collection management organizations (CMOs).

These CMOs will collect, in behalf of the artists, performers, dancers, musicians, composers, authors and publishers, the corresponding royalties for the public or commercial use of local and foreign copyrighted materials across various industries such as music, entertainment, theater, publishing, among others, explained IPOPHL director-general Ricardo Blancaflor.

On the sidelines of the 3rd Philippine Anti-Counterfeiting and Piracy Summit on Monday, Blancaflor explained that this new agency, which is targeted to be operational by early next year, will in effect protect Filipino artists from copyright infringements and rightfully compensate them for their respective works or performances.

It will also put in place a system that can regulate the CMOs and the amount of royalties to be collected, as well as help in raising awareness about the importance of respecting intellectual property, he added.

According to Blancaflor, there are groups like the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (Filscap) and the Performing Rights Society of the Philippines (PRSP) that are already collecting royalties on behalf of the  Filipino artists.

Filscap has made headway in this regard, having started its collection of royalties 35 years ago. Filscap has signed licensing agreements with a number of organizations, including KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas).

PRSP, meanwhile, started its own efforts only three months ago, said corporate secretary and  violinist John Lesaca.

According to Lesaca, teams from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) are set to arrive in the country next year to provide technical assistance in putting up the Bureau of Copyrights.

The teams are expected to help set up the software infrastructure needed to ensure the efficient management of the CMOs.

On another development, Blancaflor disclosed that the planned visit of a team from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) was canceled. The team from USTR, the agency responsible for developing and coordinating US international trade, commodities and direct investment policies, was supposed to arrive in the Philippines to review the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 10372.

“This could had been a good opportunity for the Philippines to be stricken off the piracy watch list,” Blancaflor noted.