IPOPHL Director General Josephine Santiago
Just how little Filipinos understand intellectual property rights (IPR) is on full display this election season—as it usually is during political campaign periods.
Candidates, including lawyers who should know the law, appropriate popular songs and turn them into their campaign jingles without bothering to get the consent of the songwriter or the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Inc. (Filscap).
Artists who have been victims of theft do not bother to file formal complaints and rarely complain in public, but musician Raimund Marasigan, former drummer of Eraserheads, has had enough.
In an article in this paper, Marasigan said of those politicians, “Di pa na-elect nagnakaw na.” (They have already stolen even before they are elected.) Marasigan asked people in a Twitter post not to vote for those candidates.
“Whenever you hear an unauthorized bastardized version of a popular song as an election jingle, pls don’t vote that candidate,” Marasigan said.
Director General Josephine Santiago of the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said so much indeed remained to be done to raise awareness of and inform/educate people on intellectual property rights.
IPOPHL is boosting its campaign to raise awareness of intellectual property rights as the nation marks IP month this April.
The highlight of the month-long observance is World IP Day, which is celebrated every April 26 “to raise awareness of how patents, copyright, trademarks and design impact on daily life” and “to celebrate creativity and the contribution made by creators and innovators to the development of societies across the globe.”
This year’s theme, “Reach for the Gold: IP and Sports,” shines the spotlight on creativity and innovation in sports that have not only enhanced athletic performance but also brought convenience and comfort to the general public.
While most people are familiar with patents and trademarks and accept that ownership of these is legally protected, many still do not realize that creative works, like songs, are also covered by IPR laws.
Santiago said she had, in fact, made it a point since 2015, as the country prepared for the 2016 presidential elections, to remind politicians to ask for Filscap’s permission to use songs or music in their campaigns.
Two kinds of authorization were needed for the use of a song—one was for the use of a song in advertisements and commercials and the other for the use of a song in public events, Santiago said.
Unauthorized use of a song does not only violate the artist’s right but also deprives him/her of the royalty or usage fee he/she legally deserves.
For many songwriters, the royalty from the playing of their works makes up the bulk of their income.
Another risk from the unauthorized use of a song, as one netizen mentioned in response to Marasigan’s complaint, was that people might think the artist was endorsing the candidate using his/her work.
In the United States, artists have publicly rebuked presidents for using their work without permission.
Of course, for patents and trademarks, unauthorized use of either could lead to millions of losses to the legal owners. Consumers are also put at risk if there are no safeguards in place against the misuse of patents and trademarks.
Patents are valid for a period of 20 years while trademark registrations are renewable every 10 years.
Copyright is held by the legitimate owner throughout his/her lifetime and 50 years more after that.
Holding the copyright entitles him/her to whatever income is generated by the work, such as a novel being turned into a movie.
Santiago encouraged people to register and seek the necessary license and/or registration as soon as possible to protect their rights to their intellectual property.
The law, she said, set timelines that provided protection to IP applicants even before they could fully put in shape their ideas.
For inventions, for instance, a person could apply for a patent even without a prototype as long as his/her creative idea was fully formed.
Santiago said the current rule was “the first to file” would be given priority, unlike in the past when the “the first to own” was the norm.
IPOPHL has also made it easier to apply for a patent or registration or whatever protection for IPR is needed.
People can apply in any of the Department of Trade and Industry’s satellite offices throughout the country or online.
Santiago said IPOPHL was strengthening its campaign to raise awareness of and to inform/educate people on IPR by holding symposia and visiting universities. They were also conducting capacity-building activities to provide people with the skills and tools needed to protect and fight for IPR. —CONTRIBUTED