Published — February 13, 2019
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Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
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Basis
The Philippines Constitution declares that the State shall protect and secure the exclusive rights of scientists, inventors, artists, and other gifted citizens to their intellectual property and creations, particularly when beneficial to the people, for such period as may be provided by law (Article 14, Section 13 of the 1987 Constitution). Currently, all laws dealing with the protection of intellectual property rights have been consolidated and as the law now stands, the protection of copyrights is governed by Republic Act No. 8293 (RA No. 8293) otherwise known as the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines (IPC).
Definition
Copyright is a legal concept that gives the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it usually for a limited period of time at its most general. It is literally “the right to copy” but also it gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work and determine who may adapt, to benefit from it financially, and other related rights. (Aquino, Ranhilio Calangan, Intellectual Property Law: Comments and Annotations, 2006 Edition). The copyright protection extended to the creator ensures his attainment of some form of personal satisfaction and economic reward from the work he produced (Habana vs. Robles, 310 SCRA 511, G.R. No. 131522 July 19, 1999).
Ownership of Copyright
A person to be entitled to a copyright must be the original creator of the work. He must have created it by his own skill, labor and judgment without directly copying or evasively imitating the work of another (Ong Ching Kian Chuan vs. Court of Appeals, 363 SCRA 145, G.R. No. 130360 August 15, 2001). Thus, a copyrightable work is created when two (2) requirements are met, originality and expression. This is often called as the dichotomy of ideas and expression (Aquino, Ranhilio Calangan 2006, supra).
Works are protected by the sole fact of their creation, irrespective of their mode or form of expression, as well as their content, quality and purpose. (Sec. 172.2) The copyright of a work is acquired by an intellectual creator from the moment of creation even in the absence of registration and deposit (Columbia Pictures vs Court of Appeals, 261 SCRA 144, 1966)
Under Philippine Law, no formality is required that the author be vested with the rights of copyright (Aquino, Ranhilio Calangan 2006, supra). At most, the certificates of registration and deposit issued by the National Library and the Supreme Court Library serve merely as a notice of recording and registration of the work but do not confer any right or title upon the registered copyright owner or automatically put his work under the protective mantle of the copyright law. It is not a conclusive proof of copyright ownership. As it is, non-registration and deposit of the work within the prescribed period only makes the copyright owner liable to pay a fine. (Manly Sportwear Manufacturing, Inc. vs. Dadodette Enterprises, 470 SCRA 384, G.R. No. 165306 September 20, 2005)
The copyright is distinct from the property in the material object subject to it. Consequently, the transfer, assignment or licensing of the copyright shall not itself constitute a transfer of the material object. Nor shall a transfer or assignment of the sole copy or of one or several copies of the work imply transfer, assignment or licensing of the copyright. (Sec. 181, RA. No. 8293).
In case of written instruments deposited and filed with the National Library and the Supreme Court Library in accordance with the IPC, these are all property of the government. The section or division of the National Library and the Supreme Court Library charged with receiving copies and instruments deposited and with keeping records required under the IPC and everything in it shall be opened to public inspection.
Presumption of Authorship
There is a presumption of authorship in case a natural person’s name is indicated on a work in the usual manner as the author shall. In the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be the author of the work. Also, the person or body corporate whose name appears on an audiovisual work in the usual manner shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be presumed to be the maker of said work. (Sec. 219)
Limitations on Copyright
The scope of a copyright is confined to literary and artistic works which are original intellectual creations in the literary and artistic domain protected from the moment of their creation. (Kho vs. Court of Appeals, 379 SCRA 410, G.R. No. 115758 March 19, 2002)
One limitation to copyright, is the Fair Use Doctrine, a privilege in others than the owner of a copyright to use the copyrighted material in a reasonable manner without the owner’s consent, notwithstanding the monopoly granted to the owner. To determine whether the fair use has been made of copyrighted material, the quantity and value of material used and extent to which the use may diminish the value of the original work must be considered (Black’s Law Dictionary, 6th Edition)
Works Protected
Copyright, in the strict sense of the term, is purely a statutory right. Being a mere statutory grant, the rights are limited to what the statute confers. It may be obtained and enjoyed only with respect to the subjects and by the persons, and on terms and conditions specified in the statute. Accordingly, it can cover only the works falling within the statutory enumeration or description (Pearl & Dean (Phil.), Incorporated vs. Shoemart, Incorporated, 409 SCRA 231, G.R. No. 148222 August 15, 2003)
Sections 172- 174 of RA No. 8293 enumerates the classes of work (literary and artistic) entitled to copyright protection, these are:
- Books, pamphlets, articles and other writings;
- Periodicals and newspapers;
- Lectures, sermons, addresses, dissertations prepared for oral delivery, whether or not reduced in writing or other material form;
- Letters;
- Dramatic or dramatico-musical compositions; choreographic works or entertainment in dumb shows;
- Musical compositions, with or without words;
- Works of drawing, painting, architecture, sculpture, engraving, lithography or other works of art; models or designs for works of art;
- Original ornamental designs or models for articles of manufacture, whether or not registrable as an industrial design, and other works of applied art;
- Illustrations, maps, plans, sketches, charts and three-dimensional works relative to geography, topography, architecture or science;
- Drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character;
- Photographic works including works produced by a process analogous to photography; lantern slides;
- Audiovisual works and cinematographic works and works produced by a process analogous to cinematography or any process for making audio-visual recordings;
- Pictorial illustrations and advertisements;
- Computer programs; and
- Other literary, scholarly, scientific and artistic works.
Also, Derivative Works are under the ambit of Copyright Protections, these include:
- Dramatizations, translations, adaptations, abridgments, arrangements, and other alterations of literary or artistic works; and
- Collections of literary, scholarly or artistic works, and compilations of data and other materials which are original by reason of the selection or coordination or arrangement of their contents.
Works Not Protected
Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 172 and 173, no protection shall extend, under this law, to any idea, procedure, system, method or operation, concept, principle, discovery or mere data as such, even if they are expressed, explained, illustrated or embodied in a work; news of the day and other miscellaneous facts having the character of mere items of press information; or any official text of a legislative, administrative or legal nature, as well as any official translation thereof. (Joaquin, Jr. vs. Drilon, 302 SCRA 225, G.R. No. 108946 January 28, 1999)
In addition, Section 176 of RA No. 8293 provides that no copyright shall subsist in any work of the Government of the Philippines. However, prior approval of the government agency or office wherein the work is created shall be necessary for exploitation of such work for profit. Such agency or office may, among other things, impose as a condition the payment of royalties. No prior approval or conditions shall be required for the use for any purpose of statutes, rules and regulations, and speeches, lectures, sermons, addresses, and dissertations, pronounced, read or rendered in courts of justice, before administrative agencies, in deliberative assemblies and in meetings of public character.
The author of speeches, lectures, sermons, addresses, and dissertations mentioned in the preceding paragraphs shall have the exclusive right of making a collection of his works (Sec. 176).
Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.
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