Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Philippines) Director General Adrian S. Cristobal, Jr. (left) reads the agency's press statement on the country's removal from the Priority Watch List of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Special 301 Report during the media conference held at the Boardroom of the IPO Building in Makati City recently. At right is Intellectual Property Coalition chairman John Lesaca.
USTR decision recognizes RP's anti-piracy efforts
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP Phil) Director General Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. said today that the action of the Office of the United States Trade Representative in removing the Philippines from the Priority Watch List of its Special 301 Report was an affirmation of the Arroyo administration’s sustained efforts to protect and further improve the intellectual property regime in the country.
“The decision of the USTR to remove the country under the category clearly recognized both the great strides that we have made in protecting IP and the demonstrated political will of the administration to improve and strengthen the existing investment climate in the country,” he said.
While welcoming the USTR’s decision, Cristobal said that the government worked hard to strengthen the IP system not just to be stricken out of the Special 301’s Priority Watch List but ensure that Filipino intellectual property assets will translate to economic and social benefits through the proper use of IP.
The Director General said that a strong IP system encourages more creativity and innovation, promote business competitiveness and attract more investors, which will mean more jobs for Filipinos and revenue for the government.
One study from the software industry said that the country’s $1 billion IT sector alone could nearly double in the next three years if software piracy is reduced by 10 percent from its current rate.
It said that if piracy is cut, the country could earn an additional $470 million, create 2, 200 new IT jobs and jack up local industry sales by $325 million.
“For the Philippine government, the cumulative effect of all of these growth could mean an additional $25 million in tax revenue,” the study said.
Releasing its results of its “Out-of-Cycle Review” on the Philippines, the USTR decided last February 15 to lower the country from the category of Priority Watch List to Watch List, which is the least in the three rankings of the US of countries that have problems in piracy.
In removing the country from its former category, the USTR noted of the Arroyo administration’s implementation of several legislations curtailing the production of optical discs, the non-stop raids on production facilities and stores that are selling pirated materials and counterfeit goods and its improvement of its inter-agency coordination in terms of IP enforcement.
The Philippines has been in the Priority Watch List since 2001. As of last year, 34 countries including the Philippines are still in the list.
Cristobal said that the efforts of the government to improve its piracy record would be further heightened following the order of President Arroyo to agencies including the Optical Media Board, Department of Justice and the Department of Interior and Local Government to go after copyright violators.
The President ordered the agencies to pursue copyright cases and ensure the convictions of their violators in court.
Last night, Arroyo designated Cristobal as the head of the government’s oversight in the concerted effort to fight piracy including on the development of a national IP strategy that would develop the country's IP assets.
Agencies under the IP inter-agency welcomed the decision of the USTR in removing the country from the Priority Watch List.
On the other hand, the Philippine National Police said that it was proud that it was among the agencies that have worked for the delisting of the country from the US list.
“The Philippine National Police, particularly the Anti-Fraud and Commercial Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation and detection Group, is proud to be part of the overall law enforcement effort that contributed immensely to the removal of the Philippines from the United States government’s Priority Watch List.”
“The PNP will continue and intensify its own efforts in going after IP infringers in close coordination with other law enforcement agencies and the private sector in the forward periods. Rest assured that the PNP will strive harder to build on the gains it has made the past year in the fight against violations,” Senior Supt. Noel delos Reyes, chief of the CIDG’s anti-fraud division said.
The Bureau of Customs said that the announcement of the USTR further challenged it to intensify its operations against the counterfeiting of goods.
“A yearly action plan has been set to strengthen the enforcement activity and to provide positive outcome for the government,” lawyer Willie Sarmiento, who is the chief of the bureau’s Intellectual Property Unit said.