Intellectual Property Protection Decree PD 49

Policy purpose and updating objective

The decree declares that updating copyright and intellectual property protection is necessary to encourage arts and letters and to stimulate scientific research and invention.
The decree declares that intellectual property protection must also safeguard the public’s right to cultural information.

Core works and creation-based protection

Section 2 provides that copyright exists from the moment of creation for the following classes of works:
- Books (including composite and cyclopedic works, manuscripts, directories, and gazetteers); periodicals (including pamphlets and newspapers); lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations prepared for oral delivery; letters.
- Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; choreographic works and entertainments in dumb shows where the acting form is fixed in writing or otherwise.
- Musical compositions, with or without words.
- Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, lithography, and other works of art; models or designs for works of art.
- Reproductions of a work of art; original ornamental designs or models for articles of manufacture (whether or not patentable); other works of applied art.
- Maps, plans, sketches, and charts; drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character.
- Photographic works and works produced by a process analogous to photography; lantern slides.
- Cinematographic works and works produced by a process analogous to cinematography or any process for making audio-visual recordings.
- Computer programs.
- Prints, pictorial illustrations, advertising copies, labels, tags, and box wraps.
- Dramatizations, translations, adaptations, abridgements, arrangements and other alterations of literary, musical or artistic works, and of works of the Philippine Government as defined.
- Collections of literary, scholarly, or artistic works that by selection and arrangement constitute intellectual creations.
- Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.
Section 3 provides that copyright rights are not lost except in the manner specifically provided in the decree.
Section 3 also provides that copyright rights are not subject to levy and attachment while in the possession of the creator or his heirs.
Section 4 provides that nothing impairs any other right or remedy of persons protected by the decree.

What copyright grants and who owns

Section 5 provides that copyright consists in the exclusive right to:
- Print, reprint, publish, copy, distribute, multiply, sell, and make photographs, photo-engravings, and pictorial illustrations of the works.
- Make translations and other versions, extracts, arrangements, and adaptations; dramatize a non-dramatic work; convert a drama into a non-dramatic work; complete or execute a model or design.
- Exhibit, perform, represent, produce, or reproduce the work in any manner or by any method whatever for profit or otherwise.
- If not reproduced in copies for sale, sell any manuscripts or any records of the work.
- Make any other use or disposition of the work consistent with the laws of the land.
Section 6 provides that the creator (or his heirs or assigns) owns the copyright in works under Section 2.
Section 6 provides joint ownership where works are produced by two or more persons, with rights governed by the Civil Code rules on co-ownership.
Section 6 allocates ownership when works are made during and in the course of employment:
- The employee owns if creation is not part of his regular duties even if time, facilities, and materials are used.
- The employer owns if the work is the result of performance of regularly assigned duties unless there is an agreement to the contrary.
- For commissioned works by persons who are not the employer: the commissioner owns the work, but copyright is jointly owned by commissioner and creator unless stipulated otherwise.
Section 6 defines key cinematographic creators and provides that, absent contrary stipulation, the producer exercises copyright to the extent required for exhibition in any manner, except the right to collect performing fees for musical compositions incorporated into the work.
Section 6 provides that copyright in letters belongs to the writer, subject to Article 723 of the Civil Code.
Section 7 provides that writings published without the name of the authors or under pseudonyms are treated as the property of the publishers unless the contrary appears.
Section 8 provides protection for certain derivative works (for works referred to in subsections (P) and (O) of Section 2) when produced with consent of the creator or proprietor of original works, while preserving subsisting copyright on the original works and preventing exclusive rights that would affect original works.
Section 9 provides special rules for “Work[s] of the Government of the Philippines”:
- No copy subsists in a work of the Government of the Philippines.
- Prior approval of the government agency or office where the work is created is required for profit exploitation, and that agency may impose royalties.
- No prior approval or condition is required for use of statutes, rules and regulations, and speeches/lectures/sermons/addresses/dissertations pronounced, read, or rendered in courts of justice before administrative agencies, in deliberative assemblies, and in meetings of character.
- A “Work of the Government of the Philippines” is a work created by an officer or employee of the Philippine Government (including government-owned or controlled corporations) as part of regularly prescribed official duties.
- The Government may still receive and hold copyrights transferred by assignment, bequest, or otherwise.
- Government publication or republication in a public document does not abridge or annul subsisting copyright or authorize use without the copyright proprietor’s consent.

Copyright limitations, fair practice permissions, quoting

Section 10 provides that when a work is lawfully made accessible to the public, the author may not prohibit:
- Recitation or performance done privately and free of charge, or done for strictly charitable or religious institutions or societies.
- Reproductions, translations, and adaptations exclusively for personal and private use.
Section 11 provides that quotations or excerpts may be made when compatible with fair practice and justified by scientific, critical, informatory, or educational purpose.
Section 11 provides that:
- Quotations/excerpts may be utilized in original form or translation.
- News items, editorials, and articles on current political, social, economic, scientific, or religious topics may be reproduced by the press or broadcast unless accompanied by a reservation notice.
- In musical works, parts of little extent may be reproduced.
- Quotations/excerpts and reproductions must always acknowledge the source and the author’s name if the name appears.
Section 12 provides that in reports of current events by photography, cinematography, or broadcasting, literary, scientific, or artistic works seen or heard during the event may be reproduced and communicated to the public only to the extent necessary for the purpose.
Section 13 provides multiple library and archive reproduction permissions:
- Libraries, public archives, and museums may produce photographic copies for their activities without creator/proprietor consent.
- Copies of fragile or rare material may be reproduced for loans; generally not more than two copies may be made except where special reasons justify it.
- Isolated articles in composite works and brief portions of other published works may be reproduced to supply persons requesting loans for research/study, with each borrower receiving only one copy of each article or portion.
- If a copy is incomplete, missing portions may be reproduced if they are a minor portion; producing volumes/tom es/parts from multiple-volume works is permitted only when out of stock with booksellers, printing houses, and publishers.
- Libraries entitled by law to receive one or two copies may reproduce needed out-of-stock works for collections with photographic means or process analogous to photography when special reasons require it.
- Works in collections not disseminated may not be reproduced or published without consent, but may be reproduced for preservation.
Section 14 provides a translation license mechanism:
- After five years from first publication of a writing, if a translation has not been published in the national or other local language, any citizen may obtain a non-exclusive license from the Director of the National Library to translate and publish in the language not published.
- The citizen must establish either that authorization was requested and denied, or that after due diligence the owner could not be found.
- A license may also be granted if all previous editions of a translation in that language are out of print.
- License terms must state conditions including royalties of the author or proprietor of the original work.
- If the owner cannot be found, the applicant must send copies of the application to the publisher named on the work, and if the owner’s nationality is known, to the diplomatic or consular representative, or to the organization designated by that government.
- No license may be granted before two months from the date of dispatch of application copies.
- No license is granted when the author has withdrawn from circulation all copies of the work.
- All published translation copies must print the original title and the author’s name.

Transfer, registration, and distinct rights rules

Section 15 provides that copyright may be transferred or assigned by gift, inheritance, or otherwise in whole or in part, and the transferee/assignee acquires the rights and remedies the transferor/assignor had.
Section 15 provides that copyright is not transferred or assigned inter vivos unless there is a written indication of intention.
Section 15 provides that submitting a literary, photographic, or artistic work to a newspaper/magazine/periodical for publication constitutes only a license to make a single publication unless greater rights are expressly granted.
Section 16 provides that copyright is distinct from the property in the material object; transfer/assignment of copyright does not transfer the material object, and transfer/assignment of the sole copy or copies does not imply transfer/assignment of copyright.
Section 17 provides that assignments or licenses inter vivos must be:
- In writing,
- Acknowledged before a notary public or other authorized officer,
- Certified under the notary’s or officer’s hand and seal.
Section 17 exempts cases covered by the last paragraph of Section 15 from its requirements and also references Section 19.
Section 18 provides that co-owners of a joint copyright cannot grant licenses without the consent of the other co-owners.
Section 19 requires registration/filing with the National Library:
- Every assignment, license, or instrument relating to any right, title, or interest in a copyright and the work subject to it must be filed in duplicate with the National Library upon payment of the prescribed fee for registration in the library’s books and records.
- After recording, a copy is returned with a notation of record.
- Notice of record is published in the Official Gazette.
- Such instruments are void against any subsequent purchaser or mortgagee for valuable consideration without notice unless recorded before the subsequent purchase.
Section 20 imposes a post-death registration duty:
- Upon the creator’s death, heirs or assigns must file with the National Library a written notice under oath stating the date of death for registration.
- Until complied, the limitation of remedies under Section 26 is enforced.

Duration, computation, and special time periods

Section 21 provides that copyright endures for the creator’s lifetime and for 50 years after death.
Section 21 provides that for joint creation, the 50-year period is counted from the death of the last surviving co-creator.
Section 22 provides that anonymous and pseudonymous works are protected until the end of 50 years following the date of first publication.
Section 22 provides that if the pseudonym leaves no doubt as to identity, or the author discloses identity during the period, the protection term becomes that fixed in the next preceding section (the lifetime + 50 years rule).
Section 23 provides that for posthumous works not covered by Sections 22 and 21, protection for heirs/assignees ends 50 years after the creator’s death.
Section 24 provides a 30-year term for:
- Periodicals and newspapers (with material containing independent copyright protected for the appropriate length),
- Works of applied art,
- Cinematographic or photographic works and those produced by analogous processes, or any process for making audio-visual recordings.
Section 25 provides that the terms under Sections 21 and 23 and Sections 22 and 24 run from the date of death or publication, but are deemed to begin on January 1 of the year following the event triggering the term.

Deposit, notices, and consequence-based remedies limits

Section 26 imposes a deposit and registration requirement after first public dissemination/performance by authority:
- Within three weeks, the copyright owner must register and deposit with the National Library two complete copies or reproductions by personal delivery or registered mail, in such form as the Director prescribes.
- A certificate of registration and deposit is issued, and the prescribed fee is collected.
- If, within three weeks after the copyright owner’s receipt of a written demand from the Director, the copies are not delivered and the fee is not paid, the owner must pay:
  - A fine equivalent to the required fee per month of delay, and
  - An additional amount equal to the amount of the retail price of the best edition of the work.
Section 26 provides that a copyright owner who has not made the required deposit is not entitled to recover damages in an infringement suit and is limited to the other remedies specified in Section 26 (as referenced in the decree’s remedial scheme).
Section 27 requires publication notice on copies:
- Each copy published or offered for sale must contain the name of the copyright owner and the year of first publication.
- For copies produced after the creator’s death, the year of death must also be indicated.
- Failure to comply results in the limitation of remedies established in the preceding section.

Infringement liabilities and criminal penalties

Section 28 provides civil remedies for copyright infringement:
- An injunction restraining infringement.
- Actual damages due to infringement plus profits the infringer made due to the infringement; in proving profits, the plaintiff proves sales and the defendant proves every element of cost claimed.
- In lieu of actual damages and profits, the court may award just damage not less than One Thousand Pesos and not regarded as penalty.
- Impounding during pendency: delivery under oath of all allegedly infringing articles for impounding on court-prescribed terms.
- Destruction: delivery under oath of all infringing copies or devices and all plates/molds/means for making them upon court order.
- Other court terms including payment of moral and exemplary damages.
Section 29 provides criminal penalties for infringement or aiding/abetting:
- Imprisonment not exceeding one year, or fine not less than Two Hundred Pesos nor more than Two Thousand Pesos, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Section 30 prohibits importation into the Philippines of piratical copies/likenesses of works with Philippine copyright, unless one of the listed exceptions applies:
- First exception (strictly individual use): when copies are not available in the Philippines and not more than one copy at one time is imported for strictly individual use, or when importation is by authority for use of the Philippine Government, or when no more than three copies/likenesses in any one invoice are imported not for sale but for use only of a religious/charitable/educational society or institution duly incorporated/registered, or for encouragement of the fine arts, or for a state school/college/university or free public library in the Philippines.
- Second exception (arrivals from foreign countries): when copies form parts of libraries and personal baggage of persons or families arriving from foreign countries and are not intended for sale, provided such copies do not exceed three.
- Condition on permitted imports: imported copies may not be lawfully used to violate the proprietor’s rights or to annul or limit protection; unlawful use is deemed infringement punishable as such without prejudice to the proprietor’s right of action.
- The Commissioner of Customs (subject to approval of the Secretary of Finance) is empowered to issue rules to prevent prohibited imports and to seize, condemn, and dispose of prohibited articles discovered after importation.

Resale participation right for art and manuscripts

Section 31 grants an inalienable right to participate in gross proceeds:
- For every sale or lease of an original work of painting or sculpture, or the original manuscript of a writer or composer, subsequent to the creator’s first disposal, the creator or heirs must receive participation in gross proceeds to the extent of five per centum (5%).
Section 31 provides that the participation right exists during the creator’s lifetime and for 50 years after death.
Section 32 conditions enforcement:
- The work must be registered in the National Library, and a separate register is kept for the right.
- The creator or heirs may designate a society of artists/writers/composers as agent to claim the right and forward proceeds upon demand or at the end of every quarter of each calendar year.
Section 33 excludes applied reproduction-gain works:
- The chapter does not apply to prints, etchings, engravings, works of applied art, or similar works where the creator primarily derives gain from proceeds of reproductions.

Moral rights protections for creators

Section 34 provides that a creator has moral rights independently of copyright/chapter assignments/licenses:
- Alteration before or withholding from publication.
- Requiring attribution of authorship.
- Objecting to alterations prejudicial to the creator’s reputation.
- Restraining use of the creator’s name with respect to any work not of the creator or in a distorted version of the work.
Section 35 provides that a creator cannot be compelled to perform a contract to create a work or to publish an already existing work, though damages may be recovered for breach of contract.
Section 36 allows written assignment/waiver of moral rights but voids assignments where they permit another:
- To use the name/title/reputation regarding versions/adaptations that substantially tend to injure the creator’s literary or artistic reputation; or
- To use the creator’s name with respect to a work the creator did not create.
Section 37 provides that if a creator contributes to a collective work like a newspaper or encyclopedia, attribution is deemed waived unless expressly reserved.
Section 38 clarifies editing/adaptation and destruction:
- In absence of special contract, editing/arranging/adapting necessary for publication, broadcast, motion picture use, dramatization, or mechanical/electrical reproduction according to reasonable and customary standards does not contravene moral rights.
- Unconditional destruction of a work transferred by the creator does not violate moral rights.
Section 39 makes moral rights perpetual and imprescriptible:
- Posthumous enforcement persons are named in a writing filed with the National Library; otherwise enforcement devolves upon heirs or the Director of the National Library acting for heirs.
- Named persons/heirs may assign/license moral rights within what the creator could have done.
- If no heirs exist, the Director exercises that power.
- “Person” includes individual, partnership, corporation, association, or society.
- The Director may prescribe reasonable fees for services in applying this section.
Section 40 provides remedies for violation of moral rights:
- Enforcement persons are entitled to the same rights and remedies available to a copyright owner.
- Civil Code damages may also be recovered.
- Any damage recovered after the creator’s death is held in trust for and remitted to the heirs.

Performers, sound recordings, and broadcasting rights

Section 41 defines terms for the chapter:
- “Performers” include actors, singers, musicians, dancers, and others who perform literary or artistic work.
- “Sound Recording” is exclusively aural fixation of sounds of a performance or other sound.
- “Producer of sound records” is the person/entity who first fixes a performance or other sounds.
- “Publication” is issuing/offering sound recording copies in reasonable quantity.
- “Reproduction” is making copies of a recording.
- “Broadcasting” is transmission by wireless means for public reception of sounds or images and sound.
- “Broadcasting organization” includes a sole proprietorship duly authorized to engage in broadcasting.
Section 42 grants performers exclusive rights to:
- Record or authorize recording of their performance on image/sound recording apparatus.
- Authorize broadcasting and communication to the public of their performance.
- Prohibit reproduction of a recording if:
  - The original recording was made without their consent; or
  - Reproduction is for a different purpose than the consent; or
  - Original recording was made for purposes mentioned in Section 44 and reproduction is for a different purpose.
Section 43 grants performers the right to decide whether their names will be mentioned when performance is recorded or broadcast, and applies Chapter IV to them.
Section 44 limits performer objections:
- Performers may not object to recording:
  - Parts of their performance used for reporting current events; or
  - The entire performance used solely for teaching or scientific research.
- Section 12 also applies to performances, without prejudice to Section 43 and Section 42 provisions.
Section 45 provides performer infringement remedies:
- Injunction restraining infringement.
- Civil Code damages recoverable or, in lieu, damages the court finds just and not less than Three Hundred Pesos.
- The remedies in subsections (C) and (D) of Section 28 for recordings and devices for making recordings.
Section 46 grants producers of sound recordings exclusive rights to authorize or prohibit direct/indirect reproduction and placing reproductions in the market.
Section 47 grants a fair remuneration right when a sound recording is used with intention of making or enhancing profit.
Section 48 allows producers to forbid use causing serious and unwarranted damage to industrial interests.
Section 49 requires indication in each sound recording copy of the title of the work recorded, the author’s name, the principal performers (subject to Section 43), and the date of manufacture.
Section 50 requires deposit:
- Within one month after manufacture, two copies must be deposited with the National Library by personal delivery or mail.
- The Director issues a certificate under seal; the certificate is prima facie evidence of deposit fact and date.
Section 51 bars suits until deposit/requirements in the two immediately preceding sections are complied with.
Section 52 grants broadcasting organizations exclusive rights to:
- Relay by wire or rebroadcast their broadcasts.
- Record broadcasts in any manner (including cinematographic films or video tape) for profit.
- Use such records for fresh transmissions or fresh recording.
Section 53 limits exclusivity by excluding from prohibitions the right to record broadcasts for strictly private use or solely for teaching or scientific research.
Section 54 provides broadcasting organization remedies for infringement:
- Injunction.
- Civil Code damages.
- The remedies in subsections (C) and (D) of Section 28 limited to unauthorized recordings of broadcasts and devices for making them.
Section 55 provides term expiration for the chapter rights after twenty years from the end of the year in which:
- The performance took place (for performances not incorporated in recordings);
- The recording was made (for sound/image and sound recordings and performances incorporated therein);
- The broadcast took place (for broadcasts).
Section 56 provides that the prohibitions and penalties in Section 29 apply to infringement of rights in this chapter.

Courts, limitation periods, and appeal rules

Section 57 provides that all actions, suits, and proceedings are originally cognizable by Courts of First Instance, regardless of the amount involved.
Section 58 provides that no damages may be recovered under the decree after four years from the time the cause of action arose.
Section 59 provides that appeals are governed by the Rules of Court.

National Library property, inspection, and fees

Section 60 provides that all copies deposited and all written instruments filed with the National Library under the decree become property of the Government.
Section 61 requires that the National Library section charged with receiving deposited copies/instruments and keeping required records must be opened to public inspection subject to safeguards and regulations the Director prescribes.
Section 62 requires National Library fees:
- Five pesos for issuance of a certificate of deposit of copies of a work.
- Ten pesos for each assignment, license, notice, or other written instrument filed.
- For other services, fees are in amounts fixed by regulation, with a rule that a single fee shall not exceed ten pesos.

Coverage for existing copyrights; repeals and separability-like effect

Section 63 applies the decree to works where copyright protection obtained prior to the decree’s effectivity is subsisting, and provides that application will not diminish existing protection.
Section 64 repeals:
- Act No. 3134, known as the “Copyright Law of the Philippine Islands,” and
- All laws or provisions inconsistent with the decree.
Section 64 also provides the effectivity rule through publication: the decree takes effect 15 days after publication in the Official Gazette.