Gov’t haul of pirated goods rose by 381.9% in Q1

The value of pirated goods seized by the interagency National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) jumped by 381.9 percent in the first quarter as the government stepped up its operations against counterfeiters, according to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL).

The five law enforcement agencies belonging to the NCIPR confiscated a total of P6.2 billion worth of counterfeit products from January to March—almost five times more than the almost P1.3 billion worth of goods seized during the first three months of 2013.

The value of confiscated goods seized at the end of March was P1.2 billion short of the full-year haul of P7.8 billion in 2013.

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) jointly conducted operations and accounted for the lion’s share of the seized goods when they hauled in P4.1 billion worth of fake products in the three months to March.

On its own, the Customs bureau confiscated another P1.6 billion worth of merchandise in the first quarter—284.4 percent higher than the P416.2 million reported in the same period last year.

Credit goes to the Customs bureau, said IPOPHL director general Ricardo R. Blancaflor, for raising the bar in terms of the value of goods seized.

“Since the new [BOC] leadership … came on board, the [confiscations] at the warehouses have significantly increased,” Blancaflor said in a text message.

The NBI also confiscated P284 million worth of pirated products when it conducted operations from January to March.

During the same three-month period, the Optical Media Board (OMB) hauled in a total of P178.7 million in fake goods, while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accounted for P9 million worth of illegal goods.

Despite the enforcement powers granted to IPOPHL under the amended Intellectual Property (IP) Code, the agency still partners with the NCIPR agencies in conducting operations.

“The powers of IPOPHL can only be exercised together with law enforcement agencies. The NCIPR is still the one handling enforcement,” Blancaflor said.