Problems encountered in copyright
ANY government institution that is focused on Education and R&D (Research and Development) is expected to come up with outputs that have potentials for copyright protection. This is one of the functions of the BSU-IPRO (Intellectual Property Rights Office) to facilitate the application of researchers, faculty, students and other staff with original creations for copyright application. Along the way, the IPRO encountered various problems which the office considered as normal given the low awareness of BSU community on matters related to copyright and other Intellectual property protection.
Based on the submitted outputs for the past years, these are some of the common errors encountered among the researchers, faculty and students. 1. Using pictures from the internet. Some of our clients who applied for copyright protection used pictures which they copied from the internet. It should be reminded that all images as well as data or information taken from the internet should be cited. Given the ease of copying images on different sites, authors should also be responsible lenders of someone else’s work.
The ones who are most guilty are not aware that they’re actually doing the deed because they thought it’s actually normal since it’s on the internet. It is but proper to acknowledge or if possible get permission from the author before using the image. It is not only unfair to the original owner but ones reputation as an author is at risk as there are penalties due for this. It is best to use original image to save time from seeking permission from the original author.
2. Applying for ISBN (International Serial Book Number) is equivalent to Copyright protection
Many of the applicants thought that ISBN is equivalent to Copyright protection. But this is a misconception. Both copyright and ISBN are independent and has different functions. An ISBN is an internationally recognized system whereby code numbers are assigned to books for easy identification and speedy exchange of information among publishers and all segments of the book industry and allied sectors (National Library of the Philippines, web.nlp.gov.ph.). On the other hand, copyright is the legal protection extended to the owner of the rights in an original work, (IPOPHIL). Hence, a book that is applied for ISBN has to be applied for copyright protection so that the owner or authors can claim rights over their original work.
Amidst the orientation and trainings on Intellectual property rights which we conducted in the past, the above observations are also a reminder to our office on how we can be proactive in helping our University to address the above concerns. As the famous saying says “Ignorance of the law excuses no one”, it is best to be well informed rather than say “I should have known” when the damage is done.