Think tank backs revision of IP Code to fight online piracy

Think tank Stratbase ADR Institute has expressed support to the review and amendment of the Intellectual Property Code to combat the increasing incidents of online piracy in the country.

In a statement, Stratbase claimed that piracy brought “great demoralization among local creatives,” while data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) suggests that 7.1% of the country’s gross domestic product is lost to piracy.

"Online piracy disrupts the marketplace of creative works because it allows - and incentives - the use of illegal means to benefit from the work of others. It causes great demoralization, on top of financial loss, to those who invest not only their resources but also their hard work and passion in what they do," it said.

It also said that revising the law will help empower concerned government agencies to go after suspicious sites and shut them down, minus the extra steps needed in the first place.

"Online criminals and intellectual property thieves have gotten away with many things in the past. These people unjustly enrich themselves by profiting from the work and resources and that rightfully belong to others. They must be stopped now," it added.

The Philippines currently does not have a law to block sites with pirated content. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), and internet service providers are only teaming up to put up stop gap measures to block sites with pirated content.

During a Senate hearing, IPOPHL said a study found that the Philippines lost $781 million in revenue in 2022 due to online piracy.

Testifying before the Senate Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship Committee - which was looking into the anti-piracy bills filed in the Senate - IPOPHL Director General Atty. Rowel Barba said the Media Partners Asia's study looked into the country's losses due to video piracy. 

"In 2022, there were 20 million Filipinos who downloaded from illegal sites and the loss was $781 million. And if nothing is done, by 2027, the number of illegal users will increase to 31 million and the leakage will be $1 billion. Hindi pa po kasama 'yung (excluding the) taxes," Barba said.— Jiselle Anne Casucian/AOL, GMA Integrated News