Seized fake goods reached P1.8B as of end-June

THE VALUE of pirated and counterfeit goods seized by the multi-agency National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) reached P1.8 billion in the first half, more than 28 percent higher than the P1.4 billion confiscated in the same period last year.

Ricardo Blancaflor, director general of NCIPR member-agency Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), said the National Bureau of Investigation accounted for the biggest haul, composed mostly of fake high-value watches.

The Optical Media Board occupied the second spot with its share of seized pirated CDs and DVDs. In third and fourth place are the Bureau of Customs and the Philippine National Police.

For the entire year, he said the group aimed to register a total haul of around P8 billion.

“We’re confident that we can reach that number. With the passage of a new law that will give us enforcement powers, we expect to be able to boost our confiscation and prosecution efforts,” he told reporters late Thursday.

IPOPHL is pushing for the passage of a law that will give it enforcement powers. The pending House Bill No. 3417 and Senate Bill No. 2553, if passed, will grant visitorial powers to IPOPHL and allow the director general to undertake police actions, with the support of enforcement agencies.

With visitorial powers, IPOPHL can inspect warehouses and other areas even without a warrant. This will be particularly useful for preventing counterfeit goods from even making it out of the ports and warehouses and into the market.

Such powers will also allow IPOPHL to secure documents related to imported goods, as well as prosecute intellectual property rights violations, including piracy and counterfeiting.

Right now, since IPOPHL’s powers are limited to the policy-making and regulatory aspects of intellectual property rights protection, the agency relies on the powers of enforcement bodies such as the NBI and Customs to deem seized items forfeited and prevent these from entering the market.

Blancaflor expressed confidence that the law that would give IPOPHL enforcement powers would be passed by end-August.