IP enforcement committee nets P7B worth of pirated goods 08 December 2008 --- The National Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (NCIPR) today discloses that member agencies involved in intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement have seized a total of P7.87 billion worth of counterfeit items since its creation in 2005. This year’s confiscations (as of November) contributed P2.37 billion to the total haul. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines), the lead coordinator of inter- agency efforts against piracy, gathered reports from member agencies namely the Bureau of Customs (BoC), Optical Media Board (OMB), Philippine National Police (PNP), and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). According to the data of the NCIPR, in 2008 alone (January to November), the IPR units of NCIPR member agencies conducted a total of 1,964 operations in 306 areas in the country. These operations resulted in the confiscation of 5,058,078 pieces and 179 boxes/sacks of fake goods and one replicating machine. “Sustaining enforcement operations against IPR violations is part of the government’s larger goal to build and nurture an IP culture, one that respects IPR and fosters creativity and innovation in society,” says IP Philippines Director General Atty. Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr. “Innovation is crucial in raising productivity and competitiveness in our economy,” Cristobal added.\ This year, OMB’s crackdown against piracy resulted in the seizure of P1.37 billion worth of fake goods. BoC’s confiscations amounted to close to P532 million while NBI and PNP hauled in a total P238 million and P222 million worth of bootlegged items respectively. In the areas of software, cable, and “flicker” or camcorder piracy, an aggressive special sectoral campaign has also been aggressively pursuing businesses using or selling illegal software. The Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Team has conducted 112 operations and confiscated more than P264 million worth of illegal software. The crackdown against flicker piracy is gaining ground around the country. In the country’s capital, in particular, City Mayor Alfredo Lim signed Ordinance No. 8162 entitled “Film Protection Ordinance of Manila of 2008”. In a related development, the partnership between the Motion Picture Anti-Film Piracy Council and the IPR division of the NBI resulted in nine arrests. “The performance of the NCIPR member agencies is laudable and the creation of permanent IPR enforcement units under Executive Order 736 will further boost the campaign against piracy and fake products,” says Cristobal. The aggressive efforts of various government and special sectors against piracy show the political commitment to eradicate the problem of piracy in the country. The nationwide campaign against fake items implements the directive issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo which instructs the NCIPR to “intensify regular and effective (a) raids and “spot” inspections on factories that produce illegal optical discs, trademarked and copyrighted goods, (b) seizure and destruction of pirated and counterfeited goods and equipment used to produce them, and (c) arrests and prosecutions leading to deterrent level sentences served.”
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