Case Digest (G.R. No. 184661)
Facts:
Filipino Society of Composers and Publishers v. Wolfpac Communications, Inc., G.R. No. 184661, February 25, 2025, Supreme Court En Banc, Lopez, M., J., writing for the Court.FILSCAP is a collective management organization that members empowered by deeds of assignment to license and collect royalties for certain economic rights in their musical works. Wolfpac markets and aggregates third‑party mobile content and, pursuant to memoranda of agreement with several composers, converted musical works into downloadable ringback/ringtone formats for distribution through a partner operator and an online portal (//ring.smart.com.ph). Wolfpac’s website included a “pre‑listening” function that allowed prospective buyers to hear approximately 20‑second samples (“Listen B4 U Download”) before downloading a paid ringback tone.
When FILSCAP discovered the pre‑listening feature in 2004 it demanded that Wolfpac secure performance licenses and pay royalties. FILSCAP then filed a complaint for copyright infringement in RTC, Branch 93, Quezon City (Civil Case No. Q‑05‑54775), alleging Wolfpac had exercised composers’ economic rights without consent. Wolfpac answered, contending the pre‑listening feature was not a public performance but a form of communication to the public (or otherwise covered by the composers’ agreements), that the samples were free and privately accessed by prospective consumers, and that fair use or authorizations excused liability.
On June 16, 2008 the Regional Trial Court dismissed FILSCAP’s complaint, holding Wolfpac’s transmission/downloading of ringtones was communication to the public but that the 20‑second pre‑listening did not amount to actionable public performance and could be justified as fair use; the RTC denied FILSCAP’s motion for reconsideration by Order dated September 16, 2008. FILSCAP filed a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45 to the Sup...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Does Wolfpac’s website pre‑listening feature (20‑second samples) constitute a public performance or a communication to the public under the IP Code?
- If it is a communication to the public, does Wolfpac’s use of the samples amount to copyright infringement or is it e...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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