Question & AnswerQ&A (IPO OFFICE ORDER NO. 13-171)
The rules are known as the Rules on Copyright Registration and Deposit.
The author or creator of the work, his heirs, or assignees may apply for registration and deposit either in person or through a duly authorized representative. Non-resident applicants may be represented by a duly authorized resident agent.
For authors or creators, an affidavit under Sec. 218 of Republic Act No. 8293 (the IP Code) must be submitted along with the duly accomplished registration and deposit form (RDF), and the original or certified true copies of the work to be deposited.
Class A includes books, pamphlets, articles, ebooks, audio books, comics, novels, and other writings, and these must be deposited as two (2) original copies or as an electronic copy submitted online or in a storage medium.
The fee structure includes a basic fee of Php 200, a courier fee (which varies: Php 300 for Manila, Php 300 for regions, and Php 200 for bulk applications), an administrative expense fee (Php 125 for Manila and Php 250 for regions), and totals Php 625 for Manila and Php 750 for regions. Bulk applications have a different structure.
The IPOPHL Director General may cancel a certificate upon written request by an interested party and payment of the application fee equivalent, based on grounds such as final court decisions, orders by the Director of Bureau of Legal Affairs in infringement cases, registration of deeds of transfers or assignments, and expiration of the copyright term.
The applicant must submit the accomplished RDF with all required documents to the IPFOU or proper IPSO, pay the prescribed filing fee upon validation, receive an acknowledgment receipt, and thereafter the documents will be encoded, scanned, transmitted to the relevant offices before certificate printing and release within five working days from filing.
It contains the name of the applicant or copyright holder, title of the work, name of the author, class/es where the work belongs, date of creation, period of protection, facsimile signature of the IPOPHL Director General or authorized official, a statement about the purpose of registration and deposit for the national library, and a certified true copy of the affidavit of ownership attached at the back.
The NLP deputized IPOPHL as a receiving office for copyright registration and deposit, and jointly with IPOPHL administers the copyright registration database. The deposited works are transmitted semi-annually from IPOPHL to NLP for record-keeping.
Corrections are allowed only if substantial in nature, upon written request, and payment of a fee equivalent to the original application fee. Ownership of copyright, authorship, and title in the RDF are deemed final and reflected in the certificate.