Piracy, counterfeit reports surged 286% in H1 2023

MANILA  -The government’s intellectual property (IP) rights body on Wednesday said that counterfeit and piracy reports lodged at its office surged by 286 percent during the first half of the year, driven by complaints concerning pirated gaming software, as well as by bootlegged apparel, perfume and beauty products.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said it recorded 200 reports of counterfeit and piracy incidents from January to June this year, from just 52 it received in the same period in 2022.

The government agency said that piracy concerns totaled 152, accounting for around 76 percent of the total and increasing from only nine reports in the first half of last year.

“The spike in piracy reports is as interesting as what or who drove them,” IPOPHL Deputy Director General Ann Claire Cabochan said in a statement.

Cabochan said that 135 or 89 percent of the total piracy reports were filed by a single individual who reported on pirated gaming software.

Meanwhile, the IPOPHL received 48 reports on counterfeiting, growing by 9 percent from just 43 last year.

The IP rights body said these counterfeit reports involved fake apparel, perfume and beauty products, as well as accessories.

Further, the IPOPHL said that 91 percent of these reports involved products sold online, of which 69 percent and 7 percent cited e-commerce platforms Lazada and Shopee, respectively.

Meanwhile, another 20 percent cited Facebook while 1 percent involved the photo and video sharing social network Instagram.

IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba commended concerned individuals who are reporting these incidents to their office but noted that IP rights holders should push for the enforcement of their IP rights more actively.