Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 12) — Reports and complaints filed with the country’s intellectual property office on suspected counterfeiting and piracy grew in number in 2020 as the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic.
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) said filings reached 121 last year, mostly alleged violations concerning counterfeiting. The remaining 54, meanwhile, pertained to suspected illegal sharing and selling of copyrighted works, it said in a statement on Friday.
While the office’s new reporting system only zeroes in on counterfeiting and piracy compared to past years where other IP infringement cases like confusingly similar marks were also covered, IPOPHL Deputy Director General Teodoro Pascua noted an “obviously striking surge” remains.
Pascua further explained that 2020’s figure breached the 100 reports and complaints received by the IPOPHL’s IP Rights Enforcement Office from 2016 to 2019.
Alleged fake apparels comprised most of the reports on counterfeiting, reaching 39 in number or around 77% of the total filings. Seven reports were about counterfeit gadgets or 10% of the total, while complaints on fake cosmetics reached six or 9% of the overall tally for counterfeit allegations.
Movies and shows, meanwhile, were reported to be pirated the most. They make up 40% of complaints or a total of 22 in the category. Fourteen reports were likewise filed against alleged efforts to pirate e-books or 25% of the total reports on piracy, while nine complaints filed were related to software products or 16% of overall filings.
“The exponential growth in online activities during the pandemic created the perfect entry point for pirates and counterfeiters,” said Pascua, noting the perpetrators took advantage of both legitimate sites like e-commerce and social media pages and illicit avenues like dark web sites.
The official likewise cited supply chain disruptions triggered by the pandemic, adding these allowed counterfeiters to fill the gap with substandard products that infringe intellectual property.
“The environment was equally lucrative for content pirates as people sought to find free sources of entertainment with many spending most of their time at home,” he added.
IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba, meanwhile, noted the need for a “renewed urgency for a wider crackdown” on both counterfeiting and piracy with IP products serving as a major driver for economic growth especially in the last three months of 2020.
With this, the National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) will pursue the following key strategies to deter counterfeits and piracy efforts in 2021:
– Enhance the capacities of members of the NCIPR in IP enforcement
– Strengthen collaboration with government partners, ensure regulations streamline enforcement action
– Help IP right holders in developing, efficiently implementing a strategy in enforcing their rights that is “responsive to the times”
– Engage intermediaries like e-commerce platforms, payment gateways and internet service providers in developing a coordinative, proactive mechanism
– Help improve border controls
