Revise Intellectual Property Code, senators urged

A group has called on senators to include in their agenda the passage of bills that seek to revise the Intellectual Property Code.

«There should be no reason for the delay of the passage of an amended anti-piracy bill as the country's creative sector in particular, and the economy in general, have suffered enough from the effects of digital theft,» Kit Belmonte, former congressman and co-convenor of CitizenWatch Philippines, said.

Belmonte cited the lack of a law to block sites with pirated contents following reports that the deliberation of some measures were put on hold while Congress is busy with the budget hearings.

«One more day of delay is another day for internet pirates and cyber criminals to profit from the illegal streaming of copyrighted content,» he said.

Two measures — Senate Bills 2150 and 2385 — are awaiting legislative action at the Trade and Industry committee.

Separately sponsored by senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon «Bong» Revilla, both proposals seek to amend the 27-year old IP Code and remove limitations to cover electronic and online content in the definition of pirated goods.

A counterpart measure sponsored by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda has been passed on third and final reading at the House of Representatives.

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Belmonte said that cyber criminals have been taking advantage of the vulnerabilities of the existing IP Code.

«And all that's left to defend the copyrights of the Filipino artists' creative assets is the collaborative efforts of the IPOPhil, National Telecommunications Commission and the internet service providers to put a stopgap measure against online piracy,» he said.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, piracy takes away around 7.1 percent of the country's gross domestic product. It also leads to the loss of livelihood and threatens to inflict malware on devices consuming pirated content, which can be a gateway for scams.

In a statement, the IPOPHL said that revising the 27-year-old IP Code and mandating authorities to disable access to online sites infringing on the copyrighted creative assets become imperative as cyber criminals use high technology.

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