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IPOPHL to aspiring political candidates: Respect IP rights
14 October 2024
The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) urged aspiring public servants vying for office in 2025 to uphold IP rights when crafting their campaign materials.
IPOPHL stated that, even though the election season doesn’t begin until next year, it is sending out this early warning to candidates to provide ample time to obtain permission from artists before turning their creations into campaign slogans, jingles and merchandise to establish their political brands.
A candidate’s adherence to intellectual property rights serves as a barometer for their moral character and reliability as potential public workers. IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said: “I don’t think any voter would like to see any copyright owner and artist, especially their favourite artists, deprived of their right to have a say on the use of their work for a political campaign.”
Barba went on to say that political candidates can encounter copyright infringement lawsuits in addition to public criticism that might hurt their prospects of winning the posts they are running for.
A derivative work is defined as a new work that does not infringe upon any existing copyright upon the original work utilized or any portion of it under Section 173 of Republic Act 8293 or the IP Code of 1997.
Emerson G. Cuyo, director of the Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights (BCRR), also urged political parties and candidates to contact IPOPHL-accredited collective management organizations (CMOs) to get the appropriate permissions for the modification and public performance of works.
The most common forms of copyrighted work transformed for local political campaigns are songs and music. CMOs like the Filipino Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (FILSCAP), Philippines Recorded Music Rights (PRM), Independent Music Producers of the Philippines (IMPRO) and Sounds Recording Rights Society (SRRS) could aid in facilitating negotiations and licensing arrangements for the transformation, use or public performance of these works.
- Excel V. Dyquiangco
