Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 10372)
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) is divided into seven Bureaus, each headed by a Director and assisted by an Assistant Director. These include the Administrative, Financial and Personnel Services Bureau and the Bureau of Copyright and Other Related Rights, among others.
The Director General of the IPO exercises exclusive appellate jurisdiction over all decisions rendered by the Directors of Legal Affairs, Patents, Trademarks, Copyright and Other Related Rights, and Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau. Decisions from the Director General regarding Patents, Trademarks, and Copyright can be appealed to the Court of Appeals, and decisions involving the Documentation Bureau can be appealed to the Secretary of Trade and Industry.
The IPO undertakes enforcement functions supported by agencies such as the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Customs, the Optical Media Board, and local government units. The IPO can also conduct visits to businesses during reasonable hours to check for intellectual property rights violations based on complaints or reports.
The Bureau exercises original jurisdiction to resolve disputes relating to licensing terms involving authors' rights to public performance, accredits collective management organizations, conducts studies and research in copyright and related rights, and provides copyright-related services charging reasonable fees.
Communication to the public means any communication to the public including broadcasting, rebroadcasting, retransmitting by cable or satellite, and making a work available to the public by wire or wireless means so members of the public may access the work from a place and time individually chosen by them.
A technological measure is any technology, device, or component that restricts unauthorized acts in respect of a work, performance, or sound recording in its normal operation, protecting the rights of authors, performers, or producers of sound recordings.
The assignee or licensee is entitled to all rights and remedies the assignor or licensor had with respect to the copyright, within the scope of the assignment or license. Exclusivity may also be exclusively licensed, and licensees have a right to regular statements of accounts from the assignor/licensor regarding the assigned or licensed work.
Societies designated by owners of copyright and related rights or their heirs to collectively manage rights must secure necessary accreditation from the Intellectual Property Office before enforcing members' rights.
Fair use includes criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including limited classroom copies), scholarship, research, and decompilation of computer programs for interoperability, provided such use meets established criteria and is not an infringement.
An infringer is liable for actual damages, legal costs, and profits made from infringement, or statutory damages not less than Php 50,000.00. The court may double damages against persons circumventing technological measures or removing electronic rights management information. The court can also order seizure and impounding of infringing articles. The law allows independent suits for damages, injunctions, and accounting.