QC court acquits GMA News heads on ABS-CBN's copyright infringement complaint | GMANetwork.com - Corporate - Articles

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 93 acquitted Grace Dela Peña-Reyes and John Oliver Manalastas, who were then GMA Network’s News Operations Head and News Program Manager, respectively, from copyright infringement charges filed by ABS-CBN.

QC court acquits GMA News heads on ABS-CBN's copyright infringement complaint

October 25 2021

The Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 93 acquitted Grace Dela Peña-Reyes and John Oliver Manalastas, who were then GMA Network’s News Operations Head and News Program Manager, respectively, from copyright infringement charges filed by ABS-CBN.

In the September 29, 2021 decision penned by Presiding Judge Arthur O. Malabaguio, the court sided with Dela Peña-Reyes and Manalastas citing “the failure of the prosecution to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.”

The complaint stemmed from the “alleged unauthorized and illegal use and broadcast of ABS-CBN’s footage of the arrival of Angelo Dela Cruz at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA)” which happened in 2004. Dela Cruz was a Filipino worker kidnapped in Iraq.

During his homecoming on July 22, 2004, GMA was then doing its own live coverage at the NAIA and carried the live video feed from Reuters and CNN for its news bulletin “Flash Report.”

Dela Peña-Reyes and Manalastas argued in their defense that GMA’s use of the said footage was done under a valid subscription agreement with Reuters and CNN, which allows it to air and re-broadcast these video feeds.

They added that “there was no advisory or notice of embargo given to GMA Network, Inc.” and that “the absence of volition, voluntariness and knowledge on the part of the accused in the alleged act of infringement warrants their acquittal from the crime charged.”

Following the Supreme Court’s reinstatement of the case in 2015, the QC RTC subsequently ruled that GMA’s re-broadcasting of the Reuters footage is well within the limitations of fair use.

As stated in the decision, “the prosecution failed to convince this Court of the existence of copyright infringement to warrant relief in their favor” and that “GMA Network, Inc. cannot be considered liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Code.”

It further added that Dela Peña-Reyes and Manalastas “should be exonerated from the crime charged, considering that the prosecution failed to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that they committed acts of infringement against ABS-CBN.”

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