IPOPHL vows enhanced anti-piracy campaign

MANILA, Philippines - The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) has vowed to press on with its drive against fake and pirated products in the country and further improve intellectual property rights (IPR) protection and enforcement.

Speaking to reporters in Makati on Friday, IPOPHL deputy director general Allan Gepty said the protection of intellectual property rights will be further enhanced through inter-agency cooperation, especially with the Philippine National Police and the Optical Media Board.

According to Gepty, the Philippine was removed from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Report in April last year. Gepty said it was the first time that the Philippines was taken out of the report in the past 20 years.

The USTR Special Report is prepared annually by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) under Section 301 as amended by the Trade Act of 1974. The report identifies trade barriers to US companies and products due to the intellectual property laws such as copyright, patents and trademarks in other countries.

Each year the USTR must identify countries which do not provide "adequate and effective" protection of intellectual property rights or "fair and equitable market access to United States persons that rely upon intellectual property rights."

“The Philippines’ removal from the USTR Special 301 Watch List in 2014 is a manifestation of the country’s efforts to build-up the image of the country where intellectual property rights are fully respected and enforcement laws are complied,” said Gepty.

As proof of the IPOPHL’s drive against piracy and counterfeiting, some P13.3 billion worth of pirated and fake products – or a 70 percent increase from 2013’s P7.8 billion – were seized in inter-agency operations. Gepty said 2014’s seizure was the largest in the country’s history.

Among those seized last year were 2.3 million pieces of pirated software in compact discs with an estimated value of P831.2 million.