MALAYA: Anti-piracy agency to pirates: Warning now, big stick after

By ANTHONY IAN CRUZ
Malaya
Oct. 26, 2007

MARKING Intellectual Property Rights Month this October, the government’s Pilipinas Anti-Piracy Task Force (PAPT) on Thursday said it will follow a new tack in its efforts to curb the proliferation and use of unlicensed software.

Supt. Rene Ong told reporters that PAPT has started sending a one-page letter to 10,000 companies nationwide, informing them of the criminal sanctions that will be imposed on them if found to have been using pirated software. “At this stage, we are reminding them of criminal sanctions under Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines which may be applied against them. Afterwards, we will be ready for the next step, which is enforcement,” said Ong.

The PAPT letter lists jail time of one to nine years, and fines ranging from P50,000 to P1.5 million among the penalties that would be levied against violators of RA 8293.

“With this warning, we hereby inform and encourage everyone to comply and use only legal license before we conduct the necessary law enforcement activities,” said the letter signed by lawyer Efren Meneses of the National Bureau of Investigation, lawyer Rosendo Meneses of the Optical Media Board, and Director Edgardo Doromal of the Philippine National Police.

The PAPT conducted 13 raids this month alone, resulting in the confiscation of computers, software and compact disc burners worth P39 million.

Among those raided were Filipinas Multi-Line Corp., Multi-Line Systems, Multi-Line Design Systems, Multi-Line Structures Corp., China Geo Engineering Corp. and CIID International.

The Philippines is currently included in the watchlist of the World Intellectual Property Office. PAPT members say they are working to prevent the Philippines from again making it to the WIPO’s priority watchlist.

PAPT is backed up by software industry lobbyists like the Business Software Alliance and the Intellectual Property Coalition. Among the members of these groups are Microsoft and Adobe, owners of the most popular softwares in the Philippines.

Efforts are also underway in Congress to encourage free and open-source software in government offices and schools as a foil to expensive and often-pirated proprietary software.