Philippines Copyright

The Intellectual Property Code breaks down all works that may be copyrighted into 17 classes, listed from letters a to z. All classes listed for copyrighted works, trademarks and other forms of intellectual property are included in this division. Patents do not have a category.

• A: literature (books, brochures, etc.);
• B: periodicals (newspapers, tabloids, magazines, etc.);
• C: public speaking and other public speaking works (speeches, lectures, sermons, etc.);
• D: Letters;
• E: television or film, choreography and spectacular shows;
• F: musical works (poems, songs, arrangements, etc.);
• G: works of art (drawings, paintings, sculptures, etc.);
• H: decorative designs and other forms of applied art (not necessarily industrial designs);
• I: geographical, topographic, architectural and scientific works (maps, schemes, plans, etc.);
• K: photographs and cinematographic works made during a process similar to photography;
• L: Audiovisual works and cinematographic works performed in the process of audiovisual reproductions'
• M: images used in advertising (including logos);
• N: computer programs;
• A: other works not divided into classes AH of literary, scientific, scientific or artistic nature '
• P: sound recording.

Section 185 of the Intellectual Property Code provides for the fair use of copyrighted materials. Fair use criteria are almost exactly the same as the doctrine of fair use in the United States (copyright law) , except that unpublished works qualify as fair use in accordance with the Philippine Copyright Law.

Moral rights that may be exercised by any copyright holder (individuals, corporations, etc.) are enshrined in Chapter 10 of the Intellectual Property Code. However, article 193 of the code (which is presented in chapter 10), which describes the copyright of the owner of non-property rights, describes the exercise of these rights regardless of the economic rights set forth in section 177 of the code.

In the Philippine Copyright Act, personal non-property rights have the following properties:

• Attribution
  • The right to be posted in a prominent place as the creator of copyrighted material in any form of practical activity;
  • The right to change or even suspend work from circulation;
• Good faith ownership;
  • The right to object to any changes affecting the name of the author of the material;
  • The right to delay the use of the name of the Creator in the work, and not its design.

The Intellectual Property Code permits refusal to use a work if:

• If the name of the author will be used in order to damage the reputation of another person;
• If the name of the author will be used for personal gain.

Moral rights are automatically revoked in collective writings.

In the Philippines, the term of moral law, as well as the term of copyright in literary works, is - life-time plus 50 years. Violation of personal non-property rights may also be challenged as a violation of the Civil Code. Any damage, according to the Civil Code, must be compensated to the copyright holder, or if the owner is already dead - to be credited to the trust account in order to be given to the heirs of the copyright holder.

• Philippines Intellectual Property Code - Republic Act No. 8293 "(PDF). Congress of the Philippines. June 6, 1997
• Comments on Philippine Copyright Law