IP breach rises amid lockdowns
MOU elevates IPOPHL’s holistic approach in fostering a society that respects intellectual property rights
Efforts to eliminate piracy in the country and help the creative sector recover and realize its full potential received a major boost after the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA). The MoU aims to promote cooperation on: * Development of mechanisms and channels for sharing of relevant information that can help prevent and suppress piracy in the Philippines;
* The development of piracy monitoring and purging; and
* Building the expertise and technical knowledge of local authorities involved in the campaign against piracy.
“This MoU elevates IPOPHL’s holistic approach in fostering a society that respects intellectual property (IP) rights,” IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba said at the virtual ceremonial signing held on 8 April 2021.
IPOPHL and AVIA aim to stamp out infringers and enable Filipino film and video producers, artists and contributors to continue creating their works.
The creative economy was among the hardest hit sectors during the continuing quarantine period.
Online theft grows
AVIA CEO Louis Boswell said piracy is growing stronger amid the increase of public presence online. He added that given that hosts of pirated content or websites are based outside of the country, site blocking emerges as an effective solution.
“Site blocking is a responsible means of not allowing access to pirated sites… We have experience now in multiple markets all around the region that site blocking, where it is done properly, can be incredibly effective at reducing the levels of piracy in a market,” Boswell said.
“And we’re very keen to see this happen in the Philippines,” he added
AVIA is an industry association that aims to enable television and video companies in Asia-Pacific to innovate and grow by creating a sustainable business environment in the region. It serves to provide a platform for dialogue between governments and its partners across Asia, as well as intelligence on trends and developments in the video industry.
United front vs piracy
Under the MoU, AVIA will extend assistance by providing useful information on piracy; organize and conduct training or seminars, at least annually, on piracy matters; and provide recommendations on IPOPHL’s development of mechanisms on online piracy monitoring and rolling site blocking, as well as assist to ensure their successful implementation.
For its part, IPOPHL was tasked to work closely with AVIA in the review and assessment of situations, trends and issues on piracy in the local landscape.