APRIL 18, 2015

NR # 3805B

Bill seeks to protect the transfer of copyright

A lawmaker has filed a bill protecting the transfer or assignment of copyright of
authors and creators to prevent unscrupulous persons from stealing or plagiarizing their
works.
Rep. Emmeline Y. Aglipay-Villar (Party-list, DIWA) said House Bill 5557 or the
proposed Creator Protection Act seeks to protect and secure the exclusive rights of
creators to their intellectual property and creations.
The bill also aims to ensure that any transfer of the same shall have been made with
the full knowledge and consent of the creators.
Aglipay-Villar said with the advent of the Internet and access to easy tools for
digital publishing and distribution, more and more Filipinos are creating books, music,
cinema, and other work of artistic and educational merit.
Many are becoming creators at an earlier age, some while still in school, and
amassing a following for their work, Aglipay-Villar said.
With the increased attention comes increased risk of exploitation. There has been
an increase in the number of individuals and entities that seek to take advantage of the
increase in new creators by enticing them to enter into contracts which prove detrimental
to the creators in the long-term, Aglipay-Villar stressed.
Aglipay-Villar, a vice-chairperson of the House Committees on Human Rights and
Transportation, said the bill provides that no transfer, assignment, or license of copyright
shall be valid, if the contract does not contain, in a language understood by the author.
It provides further that the author should be in possession of a physical or digital
copy of the contract for at least 48 hours before he or she can validly sign the contract and
consent to the transfer or assignment of copyright.
Under the Intellectual Property Code, Aglipay-Villar said the creator or the author
has the right to reproduce, transform, distribute, rent and display his or her work or
creations.
These rights may be transferred as a whole to another person or entity, or in part,
and may be qualified with regard to language, territory, exclusivity, format, term or
contingency, Aglipay-Villar said.
The author also has the right to make any alterations of his/her work prior to, or to

withhold it from publication and to object to any distortion, mutilation or other

modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, his/her work, which would be
prejudicial to his/her honor or reputation.
Lastly, the author has the moral right to restrain the use of his or her name with
respect to any work not of his/her own creation or in a distorted version of his work.
The Intellectual Property Office, in coordination with the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts, the National Book Development Board, and representatives from
creators and publishers, are mandated to issue the necessary rules and regulations for the
effective implementation of this Act. (30) lvc