Critical bills to fight online piracy
August 7, 2023originally published in The Manila Standard
“Online piracy is a serious threat to the Philippine creative economy, and to all of us consumers who are now heavily dependent on all these cloud services accessed thru the internet”
The creation of digital content is a rapidly growing industry that’s evolving with every new technology of digital innovators.
Everything we view in our devices whether it be our smart phones, personal computers, or TV screens, was produced with various digital tools skillfully wielded by the talents and skills of content creators of the creatives industry.
The Philippine creatives industry has a rich and diverse talent pool.
The artistic skills and innovative ideas skills of Filipinos are highly valued by international content producers and have received sporadic accolades largely because of the individual persistence the artists and their private sector patrons.
The Philippine creative talent has been globally recognized in film, music, animation, advertising, design, fashion, culinary arts, new media, and literature, to name a few.
Yes, there is actually a Philippine creative economy that has enormous potential.
According to the 2018 Creative Economy Outlook published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the country’s creative sectors produced an estimated US$915 million in service, US$3.23 million in exports, and contributed 7 percent to the gross domestic product.
The internet has made online streaming a dominant distribution channel. Platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, Spotify, search platforms like Bing, Google have integrated artificial intelligence that makes it so easy for consumers to look for anything they need.
However, it’s these same technologies that are being exploited by online piracy or the unauthorized distribution of digital content, such as movies, music, books, and software, without the permission of the original creators or owners.
This has seriously impacted the Philippine creatives industry which consists of various sectors that produce and distribute cultural and artistic goods and services.
Online piracy greatly damaged the local film industry, which has been struggling to compete with foreign productions and streaming platforms.
A 2018 report by the Motion Picture Association revealed that online piracy caused a 47 percent decline in box office sales and a 72 percent drop in legitimate online transactions in the Philippines from 2012 to 2016.
The online pirates made their biggest killing during the pandemic lockdowns with an estimated P1 billion in potential revenue losses to local video producers, distributors and aggregators (Media Partners Asia 2020).
According to a 2019 study by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry which represents the Global music industry, the Philippines ranked as the 10th most affected country by online music piracy in the world, with an estimated loss of $59.6 million in revenue.
Online piracy not only harms the economic viability of the creatives industry, but also undermines the cultural and social value of the people. By stealing the intellectual property of Filipino artists and creators, online pirates deprive them of their rightful recognition and reward for their work.
Online piracy also discourages innovation and creativity, as it reduces the incentives and opportunities for new and original content to be produced and distributed.
Consumers accessing piracy are also exposed to cybersecurity risks as pirated content have been known to be embedded with malicious software that infect devices and allow hackers to steal sensitive personal information that can be used get into bank accounts, or even lock out an individual or much worse, a whole enterprise from accessing its internal network, database, and email system.
In response, a multi-sectoral legislative initiative is being pushed by the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines in alliance with the Asia Video Industry Association (AVIA), the major internet service providers Globe Telecom, PLDT, Smart Communications, Converge, Sky Cable Corp, and DITO Telecommunity Corp. to institutionalize the blocking of websites with pirated content.
This fight against online piracy is now gaining ground with the approval last May of House Bill 7600 authored by Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda that would give authority to the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) to block websites that violate the Intellectual Property Code and expands its enforcement functions to investigate, gather intelligence, and develop countermeasures to piracy.
The bill will also establish the responsibilities and guidelines for internet service providers to block websites hosting pirated material.
The counterpart legislation is also moving in the Senate with the filing of Senate Bill 2150 authored by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, and another version filed last week by Sen. Bong Revilla which proposes a definite timeline of five days for IPOPHL to process piracy complaints by content owners.
Hopefully there will be a strong push for the fast enactment into law from these legislators who themselves come from the Philippine entertainment industry which is most affected by online piracy.
Online piracy is a serious threat to the Philippine creative economy, and to all of us consumers who are now heavily dependent on all these cloud services accessed thru the internet.
The fast enactment of a strong anti-piracy law is a pre-requisite if we are to develop the Philippines as a driver of the global creative economy.