With the rising number of the creative economy at 6.8% in 2023 compared to the previous year according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA),1 there is also a high risk of infringing such creations. As such, filing a copyright infringement action is essential to protect your intellectual property rights against unauthorized use. In the Philippines, the Intellectual Property Code (IP Code)2 governs the guidelines for trademark protection and defines their limitations.
This article outlines three key steps to initiate a successful claim, ensuring that creators can effectively safeguard their works and seek appropriate remedies under the law.
What is Copyright Infringement?
In Columbia Pictures, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, the Court has declared that, to wit:
Infringement of a copyright is a trespass on a private domain owned and occupied by the owner of the copyright, and, therefore, protected by law, and infringement of copyright, or piracy, which is a synonymous term in this connection, consists in the doing by any person, without the consent of the owner of the copyright, of anything the sole righto do which is conferred by statute on the owner of the copyright.3
It is worth noting as well that contrary to the old copyright law, the current IP Code does not require registration of the work to fully recover in an infringement suit. Nevertheless, both copyright laws provide that copyright for a work is acquired by an intellectual creator from the moment of creation.4
3 Steps to Filing a Copyright Infringement
As a preliminary note, the IP Code provides for various remedies for copyright infringement, such as injunction (Section 216), action for damages which should be filed within 4 years (Section 226) and criminal case (Section 218).
1. Establish the grounds of copyright infringement
To successfully assert your right to file a copyright infringement action, establish the grounds of copyright infringement.
In the landmark case of Habana, the Court emphatically declared that in determining the question of infringement, the amount of matter copied from the copyrighted work is an important consideration. To constitute infringement, the whole or even a large portion of the work doesn't need to have been copied. If so much is taken that the value of the original is sensibly diminished, or the labors of the original author are substantially and to an injurious extent appropriated by another, that is sufficient in point of law to constitute piracy.5
To learn more about copyright infringement, read What is Copyright Infringement? Common Cases and How to Avoid Them.
2. Prove copyright ownership
In COSAC, Inc. v. FILSCAP,6 the Court emphasized that before declaring that copyright infringement was committed, the copyright owner must establish the musical works that were subject to the infringing activity as well as the existing valid copyright over the said works. This is because copyright is a statutory right with protections granted by law insofar as those works qualify for the said protections.
3. File a complaint
As the owner of a copyright, you may file a case in court against the person infringing your right to a copyright. A person infringing your rights shall be liable under the remedies provided by Section 216 of the IP Code. In an infringement action, the court shall also have the power to order the seizure and impounding of any article which may serve as evidence in the court proceedings.7
Note also that the Bureau of Legal Affairs has the original jurisdiction in administrative complaints for violations of laws involving intellectual property rights.8 Make sure to ask for legal guidance from an accredited copyright lawyer to help you file a complaint.
Conclusion
Protecting your copyrighted works is crucial in maintaining your creative and economic rights. By understanding and following the steps discussed to file a copyright infringement action, creators can assert their rights, hold infringers accountable, and contribute to a culture that respects intellectual property.
To know more about copyright infringement and how you can protect your creation from it, book a consultation with an accredited attorney. You may also email us atadmin@pinollaw.com.
2 An Act Prescribing the Intellectual Property Code and Establishing the Intellectual Property Office, Providing for its Powers and Functions, and for other Purposes, Republic Act No. 8293, §1 (January 1, 1998) [hereinafter Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines].
3 G.R. No. 110318, August 28, 1996, 261 SCRA 144, 183-184.
4 See Pres. Dec. No. 49 (1972), sec. 2 and Rep. Act No. 8293(1997), sec.172.1.
5 Pacita I. Habana,et. al., v. Felicidad C. Robles, G.R. No. 131522 July 19, 1999
6 G.R. No. 222537. February 28, 2023
7 Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines, §216.
8 Intellectual Property Code of thePhilippines, §10.2.
