R.A. 10372: Amendments of The Intellectual Property Code of The Philippines
R.A. 10372: Amendments of The Intellectual Property Code of The Philippines
R.A. 10372: Amendments of The Intellectual Property Code of The Philippines
Limitations on Copyright
The reproduction or distribution of published articles or materials in a specialized format exclusively for
the use of the blind, visually- and reading-impaired persons: Provided:
(i) That such copies and distribution shall be made on a nonprofit basis; and
(ii) Shall indicate the copyright owner and the date of the original publication.
The right of an author (i) to make any alterations of his work prior to, or to withhold it from publication;
(ii) to object to any distortion, mutilation or other modification of, or other derogatory action in relation to, his work
which would be prejudicial to his honor or reputation; and (iii) to restrain the use of his name with respect to any
work not of his own creation or in a distorted version of his work shall be coterminous with the economic rights, the
moral rights shall not be assignable or subject to license.
Copyright Infringement
A person infringes a right protected under this Act when one:
(a) Directly commits an infringement;
(b) Benefits from the infringing activity of another person who commits an infringement if the person benefiting has
been given notice of the infringing activity and has the right and ability to control the activities of the other person;
(c) With knowledge of infringing activity, induces, causes or materially contributes to the infringing conduct of
another.
Remedies for Infringement
I. Damages
Any person infringing a right protected under this law shall be liable:
(b) To pay to the copyright proprietor or his assigns or heirs such actual damages, including legal costs and other
expenses, as he may have incurred due to the infringement as well as the profits the infringer may have made due to
such infringement, and in proving profits the plaintiff shall be required to prove sales only and the defendant shall be
required to prove every element of cost which he claims, or, in lieu of actual damages and profits, such damages
which to the court shall appear to be just and shall not be regarded as penalty: Provided, That the amount of
damages to be awarded shall be doubled against any person who:
(i) Circumvents effective technological measures; or
(ii) Having reasonable grounds to know that it will induce, enable, facilitate or conceal the infringement,
remove or alter any electronic rights management information from a copy of a work, sound recording, or fixation of
a performance, or distribute, import for distribution, broadcast, or communicate to the public works or copies of
works without authority, knowing that electronic rights management information has been removed or altered
without authority.
The copyright owner may elect, at any time before final judgment is rendered, to recover instead of actual
damages and profits, an award of statutory damages for all infringements involved in an action in a sum equivalent
to the filing fee of the infringement action but not less than Fifty thousand pesos (Php50,000.00). In awarding
statutory damages, the court may consider the following factors:
(1) The nature and purpose of the infringing act;
(2) The flagrancy of the infringement;
(3) Whether the defendant acted in bad faith;
(4) the need for deterrence;
(5) Any loss that the plaintiff has suffered or is likely to suffer by reason of the infringement; and
(6) Any benefit shown to have accrued to the defendant by reason of the infringement.
In case the infringer was not aware and had no reason to believe that his acts constitute an infringement of
copyright, the court in its discretion may reduce the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than Ten
thousand pesos (Php10,000.00): Provided, That the amount of damages to be awarded shall be doubled against any
person who:
(i) Circumvents effective technological measures; or
(ii) Having reasonable grounds to know that it will induce, enable, facilitate or conceal the infringement,
remove or alter any electronic rights management information from a copy of a work, sound recording, or
fixation of a performance, or distribute, import for distribution, broadcast, or communicate to the public
works or copies of works without authority, knowing that electronic rights management information has
been removed or altered without authority.